VIENNA, August 25. /TASS/. Austria can follow Hungary’s lead and recognize Russian vaccines and vaccination certificates ahead of EU institutions, Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday at a press conference following talks with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg.

"Of course, it is possible. Any EU member can do what Hungary did without awaiting an official decision of the European Medicines Agency," he said.

Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine has yet to obtain authorization from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to be used in the EU. The position of the European Commission on this jab has remained unchanged since EU Covid certificates were introduced in early July. EU member states that use Sputnik V (like Hungary) are authorized to issue European digital certificates to prove that the vaccination took place. However, it is up to other EU states to decide whether to accept them. On August 2, the European Commission approved Covid certificates issued in the Vatican and San Marino as equivalent to European digital certificates.