Russia ready to help Iran launch Sputnik V vaccine production

Russia is ready to continue assisting Iran in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, particularly facilitating the production of the Sputnik V vaccine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference following talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday.

"We assessed the efforts that the relevant agencies in our countries are making to combat the coronavirus pandemic. More than 500,000 two-shot doses of the Sputnik V vaccine have been delivered to Iran. Our Iranian friends confirmed today that the vaccine had proven effective. We are ready to continue assisting our neighbors in the fight against the pandemic, particularly launching vaccine production in Iran," Lavrov emphasized.

Iran received its first Sputnik V batch on February 4 and launched free and voluntary vaccination on February 9. On April 1, the fifth batch of the vaccine arrived in the country.