Sputnik V vaccines may be supplied to Turkey this month: Kremlin

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fight against COIVD-19, with the latter stressing that Sputnik V vaccines may be supplied to Turkey this month.

“The two presidents had an in-depth discussion on countering the spread of the coronavirus infection, including with consideration to the current epidemiological situation in Turkey. It was noted that Russia was ready to strengthen practical cooperation in this area, in particular, to promptly organize, starting already this month, supplies of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. Work to examine a potential joint production of the vaccine at Turkish enterprises is also underway,” read a statement issued by Kremlin late May 5 after the phone conversation between the two leaders.

Turkey has requested 50 million doses of Sputnik V vaccines after the Russian jab was approved by relevant Turkish authorities.

Kremlin informed that Erdoğan thanked Putin for Russia’s assistance. “Both presidents believe that the measures taken to fight the pandemic will make it possible to drastically improve the situation and resume bilateral ties in tourism,” it said.

Russia has temporarily banned the charter flights to Turkey until June 1 due to the increased number of new COVID-19 cases. Turkey is working on a plan to introduce safe tourism for Russian tourists who are crucial for the Turkish tourism sector.

Erdoğan, for his part, expressed his pleasure over the addition of vaccine production to the many fields of cooperation established by the two countries. Turkey and Russia are also pondering about co-producing the Sputnik V vaccines.

Regional issues discussed

The two presidents also discussed the regional problems, including Syria, Nagorno-Karabakh and Libya as well.

“Drawing attention to the importance of Turkish-Russian cooperation for the establishment of lasting stability in Syria, President Erdoğan stressed that the regional normalization and stability process should be used well for the Upper Karabakh issue,” read the Turkish statement.

Kremlin informed that the two leaders noted the constructive nature of Russian-Turkish cooperation aimed at further stabilization in Syria.

“Both presidents expressed their commitment to further coordinate work in order to promote an intra-Syrian dialogue within the Constitutional Committee, as well as to the uncompromised fight against the rest of the terrorist groups in several regions of the Syrian Arab Republic,” it stressed.

Discussing developments in Libya, they also discussed to continue supporting the efforts of the Government of National Unity to strengthen the country’s integrity, with due consideration for the interests of the main political forces and regions, Kremlin underlined.

“The discussion also touched upon the problems pertaining to the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, including in the context of the work of the Russian-Turkish center for monitoring the ceasefire and end of all military operations in the conflict zone,” it added.