MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/. Moscow calls on European politicians to rely on Western scientific publications rather than on political propaganda when speaking about the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, the Russian foreign ministry said in a press statement posted on its Facebook account.

"We wish French Secretary of State for European Affairs Clement Beaune and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who have recently shown up with biased statements about Sputnik V rely on Western scientific publications rather than on political propaganda in the interests of unfair competition. It would not be ill-advised to remember that it is about people’s lives and health rather than about geopolitical conflicts and the missed profits of pharmaceutical corporations," the ministry stressed.

The ministry drew attention to an article in the authoritative British scientific journal Nature about the efficacy of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine. According to the ministry, the authors cite a wide spectrum of opinion of acclaimed experts in virology, as well as the results of studies conducted in various world countries. "The evidence confirms the thesis that the mounting experience of the Sputnik V uses is the best proof of the Russian vaccine’s reliability," the ministry added.

Apart from that, the Russian vaccine is highly assessed in an article by San Marino’s and Italy’s experts that was posted on the EClinicalMedicine portal on July 8, 2021. "It cites a preliminary analysis of the results of mass vaccination of San Marion’s population with Sputnik V. It points to the high degree of safety of the Russian vaccine, including the lack of subsequent hospitalization and good vaccine tolerance among people older than 60," the ministry noted.

"We are glad that real scientists have highly assessed the efficacy of our vaccine. Without false modesty, it is a well-deserved recognition of the Russian medics’ and researchers’ efforts. We welcome such a depoliticized approach," it stressed.