“With regard to possible discrimination on the basis of vaccines, we can indeed say that such discrimination is observed to a certain extent,” said Grigory Lukyantsev, Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, Deputy Director of the Department for Humanitarian Cooperation and Human Rights, in an interview RIA News.
He drew attention to the fact that, despite the high appraisal of the Russian drug "Sputnik V" and its widespread use abroad, for some political reasons the process of recognition of the domestic vaccine is slowing down.
According to him, on the part of the WHO and the EMA there is no "the speed with which this vaccine could still be approved", which becomes the reason for discrimination against Russians and foreigners vaccinated with Russian drugs.
“As a result, a number of countries that are focused on some kind of relaxation in the fight against coronavirus infection are introducing essentially discriminatory measures against those vaccinated with Russian vaccines,” the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
The RDIF previously reported that the approval process for the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine at the European Medicines Agency is "proceeding in a positive and professional manner."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed the hope that the European Commission will accelerate with the resolution of the issue of mutual recognition of certificates of vaccination against COVID-19.