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Coronavirus pandemic

Russian Foreign Ministry aids talks on mutual recognition of vaccines, hopes for success

The talks are underway along the lines of health ministries

MOSCOW, November 29. /TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry is doing all it can in talks with foreign partners on the mutual recognition of vaccines against coronavirus and hopes for a successful conclusion to this negotiating process, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Ivanov told journalists on Monday.

"The talks are underway along the lines of health ministries but, naturally, the Foreign Ministry is providing all the necessary help - in terms of consultations and along the lines of our embassies. And we hope that these talks, in the end, will lead to mutual recognition," he said in response to a question by TASS on the prospects of talks with foreign partners on the mutual recognition of vaccines.

The senior diplomat also noted that due to the spread of a new coronavirus strain a meeting of the anti-coronavirus crisis center led by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova was held earlier. "Some decisions were being made there - literally on Friday. Probably, the crisis center will announce them," he concluded.

On November 26, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the B.1.1.529 variant, discovered in South Africa, as a "Variant of Concern" and assigned it the Greek letter Omicron. In its statement, the WHO noted that "this variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning." It has already been established that this can spread more easily.

Earlier in November, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that the process of the mutual recognition of vaccination certificates was being complicated not only by objective reasons but also by "subjective factors."

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