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Belgrade to start production of Sputnik V vaccine in May, says Lavrov

On Wednesday, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced the start of production of Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in Serbia

MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. The production of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in Belgrade is due to start in May, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a news conference after talks with his Serbian counterpart Nikola Selakovic on Friday.

"We share an opinion that we need to continue cooperation to save the lives and health of our citizens. We hope that the launch of Sputnik V production, scheduled for May in Belgrade, contributes to that in practice," he said. "The first trials were recently held there and they were positive."

On Wednesday, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) announced the start of production of Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in Serbia.

On February 3, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic in a phone call discussed the independent production of Sputnik V by Serbia. After the talks, Vucic said that Serbia, with the help of experts from Russia, would build the required facilities and would start producing the vaccine independently. It is planned that Serbia will begin prepackaging the Russian vaccine in May, while its full-scale production will have been launched by the end of the year.