PARIS, November 12. /TASS/. Russian agencies are collaborating with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to approve the use of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters on Friday.
"No, the issue was not brought up today, but we have it under control," the Russian foreign minister said when asked whether the Sputnik V authorization was touched upon at the talks with the French defense and foreign ministers.
"France is among those in the European Union who are waiting for the decision of the World Health Organization (WHO). It is being delayed for some objective reasons, but also for some subjective ones. Our corresponding authorities work alongside the European Medicines Agency and, of course, we work with the World Health Organization," he said.
Lavrov pointed out that a number of European countries had opted for recognizing the Russian vaccine. He added that the pandemic had served to spotlight the need for cooperation between Russia and the European Union.
"We take an interest in working with the European Union. And the fact that there are such issues, and that they are not far-fetched, but quite real and rather thorny is proven in the situation with coronavirus infection, where we need to team up putting aside commercial interests," he said.
Lavrov recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested this April that patent protection of all vaccines be temporary lifted for the pandemic.
"This has simply gone nowhere, as no reaction followed. And of course, it is frustrating that in the face of such a truly global disaster many try to play to their own advantage and at the expense of others," the Russian foreign minister said.
Lavrov emphasized that Moscow remains ready to establish constructive relations with the EU, "which have been destroyed by the European Union itself."
Lavrov noted that the talks with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Moscow this February have not brought about real action in the areas of health, climate, digitalization and green economy.
"However, nothing is working out so far. I think that it is due to the inertia of that Russophobic minority that imposes its policy on all sensible and sane members of the European Union," Lavrov concluded.
Sputnik V was authorized in Russia on August 11, 2020 to become the world’s first officially certified COVID-19 vaccine. To date, Sputnik V has been approved for use in 70 countries with a cumulative population of four billion people. On March 4, the EU regulator announced the start of Sputnik V’s rolling review.