MOSCOW, May 24. /TASS/. The process of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V's registration in the European Union must be exclusively depoliticized at stages of considering the application, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the weekly Argumenty i Fakty in an interview.

"Russia's vaccine Sputnik V has been through the scientific advice phase at the European Medicines Agency. At the moment the vaccine is undergoing step-by-step examination. We proceed from the understanding that this issue must be exclusively professional and depoliticized. People's lives and health are at stake. It is essential for the European Union to be guided by these considerations at all subsequent phases of considering Russia's application," Lavrov said.

He recalled that now Sputnik V was registered in more than 60 countries, which was clear confirmation of the world's trust towards this product.

"It should be borne in mind that the epidemiological situation in many European countries remains complicated. For our part we address the EU colleagues with a reminder that any steps they may take should be non-discriminatory and take into account the existence of anticovid vaccines of non-Western origin," Lavrov pointed out.

More than 30 countries have already begun mass vaccination with the Russian vaccine. Its 91.6% effectiveness was confirmed by a publication in the leading medical magazine The Lancet. The EMA on March 4 said it had begun step-by-step analysis of Sputnik V. According to the regulator's official, the registration procedure may be completed by the end of May.