Xi and Putin call for mutual recognition of vaccines at the G20

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin advocated on Saturday at the G20 summit for the mutual recognition of the different vaccines available against the coronavirus, in particular among the member countries of the group of the 20 main industrialized countries, among which are China and Russia.

The Chinese and Russian presidents are the two great absentees from the G20 summit of heads of state and government, held this weekend in Rome. His speeches were broadcast by videoconference.

“Despite the decisions of the G20, not all countries that need it have access to vaccines” anticovid-19, said Vladimir Putin, whose statement was broadcast on Russian public television.

“This is due, among other things, to unfair competition, protectionism” and the fact that “some states, particularly those of the G-20, are not willing to mutually recognize vaccines and vaccination certificates,” he lamented. .

In his opinion, Russia “was the first country in the world to register a vaccine against covid-19, Sputnik V”, which has already been approved in 70 countries, and “demonstrated a high level of safety and efficacy.”

From Beijing, President Xi also called for “mutual recognition of vaccines,” according to his statements collected by state television CCTV.

The Chinese vaccines Sinopharm and Sinovac are used in dozens of countries and territories, including several countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

The World Health Organization (WHO) approved Sinopharm urgently in early June, but neither the United States nor the European Medicines Agency approved the Chinese or Russian vaccines.

For their part, Russia and China do not recognize any foreign vaccines.

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