Pandemic Live: Last minute of the coronavirus
Russia Putin backs Lukashenko after plane diversion scandal
Vladimir Putin has declared victory against the coronavirus pandemic, announcing that Russia is already seeing the light at the end of the tunnel without having to stop its economy and helping companies and families. The Russian president denounced this Friday that some countries refuse to buy vaccines against Covid-19 for political reasons.
"In the fight against the pandemic on a global scale there is no significant aid. Or something more absurd:
there are prohibitions for political reasons
on the purchase of proven, effective and reliable vaccines," denounced Putin, who at another time criticized the worldwide influence of the US. : "They intend to slow down our development"
Faced with this situation, the Russian president has announced that he has ordered the Russian authorities to prepare the ground for foreign citizens to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in Russia by
paying a fee.
The Russian leader made the remarks at the plenary session of the 24th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
This would open the door to so-called
'vaccine tourism'
if Russia opens its borders once and for all. According to the director of the Russian Fund for Direct Investment, Kiril Dmitriev, (one of the promoters of the Sputnik V vaccine), it could be from July this year when Russia begins to welcome foreign travelers interested in getting any of the three vaccines. Russian women on the market.
After Putin's intervention, speeches by Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, were heard via videoconference.
The presidents of Argentina,
Alberto Fernández,
and of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro,
also participated in the forum
.
Taking advantage of the event, Putin, together with Argentine Fernández and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, started the production of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine in these countries.
Safe economy
The Russian leader assured that Russia's economy and labor market are recovering and already approaching the levels prior to the crisis caused by the pandemic. "We have been able to avoid the drastic fall in income.
There are problems, but we have avoided disaster
thanks to aid to families and people who lost their jobs," Putin boasted.
The president also announced other good news for Moscow. The laying of the first branch of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has been successfully completed: "The works on the second branch continue. The rest of the works, including the maritime section, have been concluded," Putin revealed amid applause. He added that Russia was willing to carry out similar projects with Europe,But Putin expects his international partners to
prioritize profit
and not the political situation. The infrastructure has subjected the German government to criticism of the Putin's government's abuses against the opposition.
"We are ready to continue developing similar high-tech projects with our European and other partners, and we hope that the logic of mutual benefit will
overcome the artificial barriers of the current political situation
,
"
Putin said, speaking at the plenary session of the forum. .
The Kremlin has become the guarantor of Russian identity and influence in what it considers to be its satellite states, such as Ukraine or Belarus. But on the contrary, he prefers that the rest of the nations have a more pragmatic approach to Russian projects. And that the debate on
human rights
in Russia it does not cloud the chances of energy or other alliances.
In this area, the US is the main political rival.
That is why the Russian president warned investors who listened to him at the St. Petersburg forum that if one day oil producers refuse payments in dollars, it will be a severe blow to the currency as a reserve currency.
Putin pointed out that Russia
does not want to politicize the possible rejection of the dollar,
but stressed that the international financial system requires multiple reserve currencies, not just one.
Dissent is extremists
Hours before boasting of good management, the Russian leader took care to legally neutralize those who do not see it that way. Putin signed a
law
earlier this Friday
that
temporarily
prohibits
people involved in activities of organizations recognized as extremists or terrorists from
participating in elections
at all levels. This leaves out of the September parliamentary elections anyone who has collaborated with Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. His movement is in practice
equated with formations such as the Islamic State.
According to the regulations, an individual may not be eligible for public office if the justice establishes that he is related to extremist and terrorist organizations. The same rules will apply to people who support extremists
on the internet.
According to the law, the founders and leaders of the mentioned organizations will not be eligible for five years. Employees of these parties are
banned for three years after
the court decision to close or ban the aforementioned groups.
In mid-April, the Moscow Prosecutor's Office asked the Foundation for the Fight against Corruption of Navalny (FBK) to declare extremists. The entity had already been listed as
a foreign agent
and the same happened with the so-called Navalny offices in various Russian cities.
Two weeks later, the regional network was included in the list of extremist organizations.
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