In a phone conversation, Merkel and Putin discussed “cooperation issues in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic ” and “possible prospects for joint vaccine production were emphasized,” the Kremlin said in a statement.
“It was agreed to continue talking about the issue between the ministries of Health and other specialized structures of the two countries,” added the note, quoted by the AFP news agency.
Russia developed a coronavirus vaccine called Sputnik V, the first to be registered globally, last August.
So far one million people have been vaccinated in Russia and shipments have also been sent to Argentina, Belarus, and Serbia. In addition, countries such as Venezuela, Mexico, and Bolivia have ordered doses of the Sputnik V vaccine.
But at the same time, the Russian authorities have recognized that they do not have the means for large-scale production.
Thus, India will help by producing 100 million doses and agreements have also been signed with Brazil, China, and South Korea.
For its part, Germany began to vaccinate its population with the drug produced by the American laboratories Pfizer and German BioNTech.
