The EU Ambassador responded to accusations of politicizing the recognition of "Sputnik V"

EU Ambassador to RUSSIA Markus Ederer announced the politicization by the Russian side of the process of recognizing Sputnik V in the European Union and the regular postponement of inspections,requested by the European regulator

“The Russian side repeatedly postpones the deadlines for the inspection requested by the EMA (European Medicines Agency), which slows down the process. These are the facts. This is a technical, not a political process. When Russian officials talk about delays and politicization from the European side, it sometimes seems to me that they are mostly talking about themselves, since they are the ones who politicize this issue, ”said Markus Ederer, European Union Ambassador to Russia, in an interview with RBC.

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Commenting on the call of the Secretary of State at the French Foreign Ministry Clément Bon to the EU countries not to recognize Russian vaccines and the statement of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi that Sputnik V will probably not be recognized in the EU, he expressed the opinion that the inspectors of the European Medicines Agency are immune to pressure. “I have met with the inspectors, and frankly they are working in their own world. I don't think they are susceptible to pressure. Some of the comments that you may have heard may be due to delays that are not caused by the actions of the EMA or the EU, ”Ederer said.

The Ambassador recalled that the EMA continues to conduct a consistent examination. “It is largely based on inspections and evaluations, followed by a conclusion. There are still a number of open questions, but I will not comment on them, as this is the prerogative of experts. You may have heard that the WHO has publicly identified a number of issues that have been identified and has suspended the vaccine recognition process. Therefore, all questions about the timing should be asked to the Russian authorities,” the diplomat said. RBC sent inquiries to the press services of the Ministry of HEALTH and the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

Previously, Alexander Gintsburg, DIRECTOR of the Center. Gamaleya, who developed Sputnik V, said that the difficulties with the recognition of the Russian vaccine by the EMA and WHO are associated with competition in the market. Gunzburg claims that Sputnik V's turnover now "exceeds or equals the turnover of all other drugs on planet Earth." “And the main difficulty is who will get those dividends from the use of several vaccine preparations that <...> are currently being used,” he said at the end of September.