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Russia has denied a Turkish newspaper report that Turkey will not buy the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine from Russia.
Russia’s state TASS news agency on Wednesday quoted Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca as telling Habertürk newspaper that the vaccine had not been licensed in Turkey. TASS later quoted a source from Russia’s Direct Investment Fund said the newspaper’s initial report was “fake news.”
“Negotiations with Turkey continue. Appointments [of the representative of the Turkish Health Ministry] they are an example of fake news, “the source said, according to TASS.
Countries are rushing to approve and buy vaccines that have been shown to be safe and effective against coronavirus after Britain last week became the first Western country to give the green light to mass vaccination.
Russia has touted Sputnik V as a cheaper and easier-to-transport alternative to Western-made vaccines and has said it is 95% effective based on interim results of its ongoing Phase 3 trials. While the international community has responded largely with skepticism, countries such as India, Uzbekistan, Mexico, Nepal, Egypt and Venezuela have signed on to purchase the Russian-made vaccine.
On November 27, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara was negotiating with Moscow to import a coronavirus vaccine.
Recently, Turkey and Russia have been at odds over a six-week conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Erdogan must visit Azerbaijan this week to attend a victory parade in the capital of Baku that marks the end of the conflict.
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