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Coronavirus pandemic

Purchase of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for Hungary initiated by top diplomat, says PM

PM Victor Orban described the decision made by the EU heads of state and government to task the European Commission with the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines as bad

VIENNA, March 29. /TASS/. Hungary purchased Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine on the recommendation of Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto who foresaw a difficult situation with the supply of Western vaccines in 2020, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told Hungary’s Kossuth Radio.

Orban described the decision made by the EU heads of state and government to task the European Commission with the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines as bad. "That was a bad decision. <…> Frankly speaking, we were mistaken: we made a bad decision. The prime ministers must have said that each country should address the issue of purchasing vaccines on its own, and everyone should conduct negotiations with manufacturers independently," he noted.

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"Fortunately, Peter Szijjarto - it is difficult to express our gratitude to him for his foresight - warned us back in November that there might be problems [with vaccine supplies]. He said that the situation would be the same in the lung ventilator market," Orban said.

According to the prime minister, back in November 2020, Szijjarto advised the Hungarian government not to hesitate, ignore other EU countries’ stance and remember that human lives were the most important thing. "He told us that we must go to Moscow and Beijing, that we must conduct negotiations with Russians and Chinese and that we must purchase all the vaccines that we can, because this is not an ideological or political issue," he stressed.

"Those who are just starting negotiations with Beijing understand that their turn will only come in the summer. Those who are just starting negotiations with Russia will have to join the queue of those countries, which are already waiting for the vaccine. We are in a very good position, right at the beginning of the queue. Both Russians and Chinese deliver [vaccines] on time," Orban said.

On March 19, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that he had been inoculated with the Sputnik V vaccine. Currently, five vaccines are available in Hungary, including Russia’s Sputnik V.

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