Prime Minister Edi Rama appears to have changed his stance on the Russian Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.
On Sunday in Lezhe, Rama said that most of Europe and the world are having difficulty securing vaccines. He added that prices are high and it’s difficult to acquire them.
He then spoke of how some European countries are opening dialogue with Russia and China regarding the Sputnik V and Sinopharm vaccines respectively. Rama added that the purchase or non-purchase of these vaccines is not a geopolitical matter.
Rama had previously reacted with harsh words at the suggestion Albania use the Sputnik V vaccine. When the Russian embassy in Tirana reminded Rama that their vaccine was a possibility, he responded by saying it was “inappropriate” and “ridiculous”.
“I thought it was a meme because for a serious state it is completely inappropriate to make such provocations. When I say provocation I do not mean to deliver a diplomatic demarche to Russia, because this is a ridiculous provocation. And it is not good for a serious country like Russia to become ridiculous with such posts[…] I express my regret for this[…]” he said.
Since those comments were made, Albania has struggled to secure or have delivered any meaningful amount of vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, or AstraZeneca.
Sputnik V has started to be used in some countries without first getting a rating from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). This has divided the EU countries and their governments.
The first data for Sputnik V was sent to the EMA for evaluation on Thursday.
Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have all sought to bypass the EMA assessment of vaccine safety and efficacy.
Some countries that were previously under Soviet control, namely the Baltic states and Poland, have warned that the vaccine “is a geopolitical weapon designed to expand political divisions within the EU.”
Other EU members, particularly Germany, have been supportive of Russia’s vaccine “as long as it meets the EMA’s high standards of quality, safety, and efficacy.”
Over the weekend, North Macedonia received delivery of 3000 Sputnik V vaccines, out of a total of 200,000 that have been ordered.
Venko Filipce, Minister of Health, went out to receive the vaccines at Skopje International Airport, together with Russian Ambassador Sergey Bazdnik.
The Minister said that these doses will be used for vaccination of the elderly, the chronically ill, and other categories while emphasizing that the vaccine is safe.
He announced that in the coming day’s talks will continue to provide other doses, to continue the immunization of the population, based on the national immunization plan.
“The vaccine is safe and effective. We are ready to help the Macedonian people with whom we share common values. “We are ready to expand cooperation in other areas,” said Russian Ambassador to Skopje Sergey Bazdnikin.
Northern Macedonia has so far been able to obtain only about 8,000 doses of vaccines from the American company Pfizer, donated by Serbia.
