The Montenegrin government has refused to donate 10,000 Chinese vaccines

The Montenegrin government rejected a donation of 10,000 vaccines from Chinese manufacturer Sinofarm, owner of Adriatic Properties and Universal Capital Bank Petros Statis, and the opposition called the government’s decision politically motivated.

Vaccination against the coronavirus has not yet started in Montenegro.

The government, as announced, rejected the Statis donation, because “it was agreed that all purchase of the vaccine goes through direct bilateral relations with the producers, that is, with the countries where the vaccines come from.”

“Any other type of vaccine procurement or donation or any other type of vaccine arrival in Montenegro requires additional control, that is, a special precaution,” said Health Minister Jelena Borovinić Bojović.

The World Health Organization, as noted, warned that every country should be very careful when donating vaccines through some other channel or alternative route.

“We have had several other offers of this type for the purchase of vaccines, but precisely because we want it to be tested, high quality, we decided that the vaccines reach Montenegro through direct connections and international bilateral agreements,” he said.

Statis offered a donation of 10,000 Chinese Sinofarm vaccines, and the President of Montenegro, Milo Đukanović, informed the public about it.

Opposition parties claim that the government rejected the Statis donation for political reasons, especially because it asked Serbia for help in purchasing vaccines. Serbian Health Minister Zlatibor Lončar stated on Sunday that the “Montenegrin minister” also contacted him regarding aid for vaccines.

The minister reiterated that vaccination in Montenegro could start in early February. He said that they had signed a contract with Sinofarm for 150,000 vaccines, that they would receive 50,000 doses of the Russian vaccine, and that a contract had been signed for the purchase of the Pfizer / BioNTek vaccine.