ROME, August 27. /TASS/. Russia hopes tourist exchanges with Italy will be resumed after Russian coronavirus vaccines are finally recognized in the European Union, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday after talks with his Italian counterpart, Luigi Di Maio.
"We hope that as soon the issue of mutual recognition of vaccines is settled these [tourist] exchanges will be resumed," he said.
The Russian minister recalled that direct air service with Italy was resumed a month ago. "Italians who arrive in Russia by these flights are absolutely free to be on our territory as their programs of stay provide," he said.
According to Lavrov, most of the European Union member states are waiting for the go-ahead from the European Medicines Agency to recognize Russian vaccines. However, he pointed out that the final decision on this matter is taken by national governments. "Like Hungary did. It registered the [Russian] Sputnik vaccine at the national level and we have an agreement of mutual recognition of vaccination with the jabs used in Russia and jabs used in Hungary," he noted, adding that the European Union is making "not quite constructive statements" concerning Russian and Chinese vaccines.
Sputnik V has not yet been approved by the European Medicines Agency for use in the European Union. The European Commission’s position concerning Sputnik V has stayed unchanged since the launch of the EU COVID certificate system in early July. EU countries, which use Sputnik V, for instance, Hungary, have the right to issue European digital vaccination certificates for this vaccine but other EU countries are free to either accept or reject these documents. The European Commission ruled on August 2 that the Vatican’s and San Marino’s vaccination certificates would be accepted under the same conditions as EU Digital COVID Certificates.