GENEVA, May 10 (Reuters)--Members of the World Health Organization's (WHO) European region passed a resolution on Tuesday (May 10) that could result in the closure of Russia's regional office and the suspension of meetings in the country in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

The special session of the European region passed the resolution, supported by Ukraine and the European Union, with 43 in favour and three against (Russia, Belarus, Tajikistan) and two abstentions.

Backers consider it an important political step to isolate Moscow and said they were at pains to avoid any major impact on Russia's health system.

The resolution referred to a "health emergency" in Ukraine, referring to mass casualties as well as risks of chronic and infectious diseases that have resulted from Russia's military actions.

Russia's envoy Andrey Plutnitsky opposed the resolution and said he was "extremely disappointed".

"We believe this is a huge moment of harm for the system of global healthcare," he told the meeting of members and top WHO officials.

Some have criticised the WHO resolution, saying it does not go far enough.