Hungary will buy a large amount of vaccine against the coronavirus from Russia, to be supplied in three stages, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Friday after talks with Russian health minister Mikhail Murashko.
He said the contract with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) was signed the previous evening.
“It is in Hungary’s national interest to secure further safe and effective vaccines in order to speed up vaccination in the midst of the pandemic,” Szijjártó added.
Further details of the contract and detailed plans for the vaccine shipments will be made available later in the day, he said.
Buying vaccine from Russia will save lives and speed up Hungary’s return to normal life, he added. He noted that the emergency use of Sputnik V had been approved by the Hungarian authorities after experts of the national pharmaceutical authority observed the circumstances of production at an on-site visit.
Murashko praised the success of talks and the outlook for cooperation, saying that Sputnik V was contributing to efforts to fight the pandemic in a growing number of countries.
Szijjártó is scheduled to meet Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Minister of Energy Nikolai Shulginov, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Trade and Industry Denis Manturov, Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller and Rosatom General Director Alexey Likhachev later in the day.
featured image via Péter Szijjártó’s Facebook page
