Business & Economy

Putin, Xi condemn ‘politicisation’ of coronavirus origins, vaccines

Moscow, Sep 3 (EFE).- Russian president Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Friday condemned the “politicisation” of the Covid-19 vaccine and of the origin of coronavirus, as they encouraged the international community to work together to fight the pandemic.

“We must boost cooperation in vaccine research, development, and production, provide more public goods to the international community and firmly ward off any politicization of the Covid vaccine or the inquiries into its origins,” said Xi during a video intervention at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.

Putin, who was physically present, said it is important to track down the origins of the virus,  which was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan, but deemed it inappropriate to politicise its provenance.

“All investigations must be undertaken in an unbiased way, based on the facts,” he argued, insisting that politicising such inquiries results in a lack of confidence in the conclusions reached.

He also pointed out that developed economies produce a majority of vaccines to protect their own populations, while little is being done to help humanity at large.

Putin criticised the fact that economic sanctions against countries like Venezuela or Iran have not been lifted, which would help their populations survive humanitarian crises that are being exacerbated by financial struggles. EFE

cae/lv/ks

Related Articles

Back to top button