MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. Serbian movie director Emir Kusturica has been vaccinated with the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, as he himself said in an interview with Russia’s Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation, a part of which has been published on the agency’s Telegram channel.

"I have received the first injection, the next one is due on February 17," he said.

"The Belgrade elite, which has close ties with the West, believes in Pfizer and Moderna but I think that 80% of Serbs trust Russians and believe in the effectiveness of Sputnik V. They consider it to be the best vaccine and hope that Serbia will have more of the vaccine. This vaccine is the most important one for us," Kusturica pointed out.

Emir Kusturica, born in 1954, has participated in more than 30 pictures as an actor, scriptwriter and film director. He has won numerous awards throughout his career at top European film festivals.

On December 31, Serbia’s Medicines and Medical Devices Agency approved the use of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine and an inoculation campaign involving the vaccine kicked off in the country on January 6.

On August 11, 2020, Russia became the first country to register a coronavirus vaccine, which was named Sputnik V. The vaccine was developed by the Gamaleya Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology. Over 20 countries have registered the vaccine.