LONDON — The World Health Organization's director-general declined to address in detail the significance of U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent announcement that he would be pulling the country out of WHO, saying only that he hoped the relationship would continue.

Trump announced Friday that he was not satisfied with the level of substantial reform he had demanded from the U.N. health agency in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and would be taking the U.S. out of WHO — an unprecedented move by any member country.

In recent weeks, Trump has repeatedly accused WHO of colluding with China to cover up the extent of the coronavirus outbreak and labeled WHO a “puppet” of China.

WHO has dismissed the accusations.

At a press briefing on Monday, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the U.S. government’s contribution to global public health over the past few decades has been “immense” and has made a great difference to public health. “It is WHO’s wish for this collaboration to continue,” he said.