MOSCOW, September 9. / TASS /. Moscow and Minsk continue to work on organizing the full production cycle of the Russian COVID-19 Sputnik V vaccine in Belarus, the Kremlin stated prior to the meeting of Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday.

"On March 25, 2021, Belarus launched vaccine manufacturing in line with the scheme of bottling from an intermediate product. The work on organizing a full cycle vaccine production in Belarus is underway," the statement reads.

The Kremlin recalled that as part of the joint fight against COVID-19 and in order to support the ally, Russia had sent Belarus over 55,000 COVID-19 tests free of charge as well as respirators and other personal protective equipment. During the first coronavirus wave, Russian airlines returned the Belarusians to their homeland, while Belavia Airlines brought back Russians. Also, Belarusian volunteers took part in Sputnik V’s clinical trials, and the republic became the first foreign state to officially register this jab and to receive it (some 170,000 doses were delivered by late March 2021).

On June 3, Belarus authorized the Russian Sputnik Light vaccine, which the republic expects to use for those who have already suffered from coronavirus.