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Lavrov expects EU’s plans for vaccine passports won’t discriminate against Russians

Lavrov emphasized that the EU’s move to introduce "vaccine passports" could lead to forced vaccination and would violate the principle that inoculation should be voluntary

© AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana

MOSCOW, March 2. /TASS/. Moscow expects that the European Union’s plans to introduce coronavirus vaccine passports won’t discriminate against Russian nationals, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference on Tuesday.

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"At our level, we informed our colleagues in the European Union that we expected them to make decisions that will not discriminate against Russian nationals," he pointed out.

The Russian top diplomat emphasized that the European Union’s move to introduce "vaccine passports" could lead to forced vaccination and would violate the principle that inoculation should be voluntary. "It seems that the initiative runs counter to the rules of democracy because EU countries decided that vaccination would be voluntary," Lavrov noted. "It means that people will be forced to get vaccinated in order to be able to travel, and people in the European Union can hardly imagine their life without traveling between countries," he added.

"We’ll see how it plays out. I hope that a decision will be made based on the positions of member states. The principle that vaccination should be voluntary is very important," the Russian foreign minister stressed.

On Monday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced plans to introduce coronavirus vaccination certificates.

Russia imposes state of federal-level emergency due to fuel oil spill in Black Sea

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The BREST-300 fast neutron reactor is due to be launched in 2026-2027 and to go on stream in 2028

Azerbaijan Airlines plane made 2 circles near Kazakh airport before crashing — official

According to Kazakh Deputy Transport Minister Talgat Lastayev, data will be retrieved from flight recorders during the investigation, and interviews will be conducted with eyewitnesses and air controllers

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France made several requests to Russia on Ukraine topic through private channels — Lavrov

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Lavrov welcomes Trump team’s statements about willingness to resume dialogue

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Australia contacts Russia regarding captured mercenary — diplomat

Maria Zakharova emphasized that "Canberra obediently follows in the footsteps of the collective West, which pursues a Russophobic policy"

Greece continues to ship munitions to Ukraine en masse — website

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