Merkel wants to talk about Sputnik’s deal with Putin

Published: April 08, 2021 Kilo 15.55

Photo: Marcus Schreiber / AP / TT

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the purchase of the Russian Sputnik V. Stock Photography vaccine.

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German Health Minister Jens Spahn said Germany will talk to Russia about purchasing doses of the 5th Coronary Artery Vaccine (Sputnik).

The talks are taking place despite the fact that the Sputnik vaccine has not been approved by European authorities.

– The European Commission said yesterday that it will not sign contracts with Sputnik as it has done with other manufacturers. So I said that we will have bilateral talks with Russia, as Spahn said to German television company WDR.

However, the minister did not mention when the talks will be held, but added that they will focus on practical aspects such as delivery dates.

– To really make a difference, the first deliveries should arrive in the next two to five months, he continues.

So far, Germany has dealt with the purchase of vaccines jointly with the rest of the European Union. Thus, the country received vaccine shipments from Pfizer-Biontech, Moderna and Astra Zeneca. In the coming weeks, vaccines from the manufacturer Johnson & Johnson are also expected to roll out into the block.

Despite this, there is growing dissatisfaction in Germany with high rates of infection in association with all late vaccination deliveries.

The state of Bavaria in southern Germany announced, Wednesday, that it has signed an early agreement with a Russian manufacturer to buy licenses for 2.5 million doses of the Russian Sputnik vaccine, once the vaccine has been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). A similar message came on Thursday from the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in East Germany.

Published: April 08, 2021 Kilo 15.55