After they failed to provide it to their own people

Russia and China intend to provide vaccines to the Europeans

• Russia is negotiating to produce "Sputnik V" in Europe.

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After the European Coronavirus vaccination program faltered, Russia and China are preparing to fill the gap.

Moscow has launched talks to produce vaccines, in the heart of Europe, for the benefit of the countries scrambling to get doses.

Vaccines produced in Russia and China are already in parts of the Balkans and Eastern Europe, outside the European Union.

Speaking to the "Atlantic Council", on Thursday, French President Macron described China's efforts in the field of vaccines as "a clear diplomatic success", "a little insulting to us."

He and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have expressed their openness to using vaccines from Moscow and Beijing, if approved by European Union regulatory bodies.

This possibility may not be remote, although data is not available.

After the results of the "Sputnik V" vaccine trials were reviewed by experts, and the results were published in the scientific journal "The Lancet," which placed its effectiveness alongside the best Western vaccines, the vaccine developers said that they expected the final licensing procedures to be completed by March.

The Russians began negotiating with the Germans for a partnership in industrialization.

The European Medicines Agency stated that it provides scientific advice regarding the "Sputnik" vaccine, and one of the Chinese vaccines, "Sinovac", although neither of them has yet submitted an application for approval for use in the European Union.

But the struggle of the United States to put forward its program for the efficient use of American and European-made vaccines;

He let Russia and China emerge as potential saviors, in addition to being necessary partners.

The possibility of the "Sputnik" vaccine entering Europe comes at a time when Germany is under pressure to take a tougher stance towards Moscow, after the poisoning and imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The gas pipeline, to be extended from Russia to Germany, is under special scrutiny.

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David Fiedler, chief global health expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, says: “With the disagreements, the arguments and the pointing of accusations, from the European Union, it seems like an insignificant offer.” This matter".

Long waiting list

Drug industry insiders cited slow demand and price bargaining as the reason for the EU's faltering.

Officials also said that the British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant, AstraZeneca, had a clear share in the problem, and was bearing part of the burden of the lack of supplies.

Some of the other candidate vaccines requested by the European Union were suspended during the trials, while deliveries of the Pfizer Biontech vaccine developed in Germany were also temporarily disrupted.

Amid the dispute, two countries outside the bloc are at the forefront of vaccination plans on the continent.

They are: Britain, which recently left the European Union, using the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines;

And Serbia, which has not yet joined the union, uses "Sputnik V" and "Chinese Sinopharm".

In Serbia, more than 7% of the population received their first dose of the vaccine, compared to 2.4% in Germany, which achieved close to the rest of the bloc countries, according to a Bloomberg News report.

While about 15% of people received a dose of vaccine in Britain.

Merkel admitted in a television interview, on Tuesday, that "the vaccination of Serbia was faster", referring to her use of the Chinese vaccine, explaining: "We have always said that any vaccine approved by the European Medical Agency is very welcome."

Merkel’s acknowledgment of Serbia’s successful experience appears to leave little hope for smaller countries, which may have been hoping for vaccine help from the West, and some in Europe are particularly keen on keeping Moscow's influence at bay.

The Ukrainian Parliament has banned Russian vaccines, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Europe to provide more assistance.

"The wealthiest countries found themselves at the top of the global vaccine waiting list," he said in December.

It is reported that Ukraine lost the Crimea peninsula, to Russia, in 2014.

The result of errors

Now, it is clear to the smaller countries, which may increasingly see Serbia's choice as the only path.

The "Kovacs" program of the World Health Organization, which aims to provide vaccines to countries that cannot afford them, has received pledges from the European Union to supply the doses.

But the aid did not materialize amid the chaos and delays in the European Union's efforts to buy itself vaccines.

"They now have to take Russia and China seriously about vaccines," Fiedler says.

He explained: "This is a result of the severity of this epidemic, but it is also a result of the mistakes of politicians."

For his part, Macron said that he hoped that "Kovacs" would, in the long run, "be more efficient" than other efforts in serving developing countries.

And the French president added, "If we combine our funding and our commitments together, we can provide these countries with a number of doses, without any comparison with those that China will provide in the coming weeks and months."

But Russia and China had the advantage of taking the lead, according to Joanna Hosse, deputy director of the Europe program at the European Council on Foreign Relations, following up that "the production and approval of the Russian vaccine in Europe can increase the credibility of (Sputnik in) and speed up vaccination among European neighbors."

"The main goal of the European Union is to ensure that people are vaccinated, and I think in this case that the European Union will try to turn a blind eye to Russia's negative side and distribute the vaccine," Hausa added.

As for Kriku, he does not see Russian and Chinese vaccinations being used to protect their citizens as a problem, explaining: "The problem is that if there is a perception that only our eastern friends, they can help us in times of trouble."

Sputnik diplomacy

Vaccine diplomacy is part of a broader push by President Vladimir Putin to assert his country's influence abroad by choosing a vaccine name that evokes the space race during the Cold War with the West.

"The problem is that - especially in small countries - it is difficult to separate deals with Russia and political influence," said Peter Kriku, director of Political Capital, an independent think tank based in Budapest, adding: "The Russian strategy to test the cohesion of the European Union and find links. The weakest, confirming influence, clearly visible and already successful ».

Beijing says it will not use its vaccines for diplomatic pressure, but in public statements, officials have linked the vaccine to more cooperation and communication.

Any vaccine partnership in Europe is likely to sound the alarm in Washington.

But now, the Aesthetics Institute and the Russian Direct Investment Fund, two developers of Sputnik V, are actively looking for a German partner, for a possible link to production, according to the German Ministry of Health, which confirmed that it had contacted the German biotechnology company, IDT Biology. ».

The company declined to comment on the discussions.

"If the vaccine is safe and effective, regardless of the country in which it was manufactured, then of course it can help in overcoming the epidemic," German Health Minister Jens Spahn said last week.

The Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, anticipated Germany's positive comments about Russian and Chinese vaccines, as his government approved both "Sputnik V" and "Sinopharm", for use in the country, without the approval of the regulators in the European Union.

In return, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic asked China for help, and Beijing responded quickly, although it remains unclear how much of the vaccines Serbia received as a gift, and how much were purchased.

European countries later followed suit, but it was too late to change the perception in Serbia that China was ready to help at a time when the European Union was reluctant.

Vaccine diplomacy is part of a broader push by President Vladimir Putin to assert his country's influence abroad by choosing a vaccine name that evokes the space race during the Cold War with the West.

The WHO Kovacs program, which aims to provide vaccines to countries that cannot afford them, has received pledges from the European Union to supply the doses.

But the aid did not materialize, amid chaos and delays in the European Union’s efforts to buy itself vaccines.

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