BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) – The leader of Serbia on Wednesday expressed his gratitude to Chinese President Xi Jinping for 1 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and said he is proud that Serbia is the first European country to introduce its population has given the photos of China.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said after a meeting with the Chinese ambassador in Belgrade that by receiving the Sinopharm vaccine, “the citizens of our country have expressed their deep confidence in the Chinese vaccine and thus also in the Chinese state and Chinese experts. “
This was not the first time that the populist president had publicly praised China and its Communist Party leader. Vucic kissed the Chinese flag when China delivered masks and other protective equipment in March 2020, and he criticized the European Union for an alleged lack of solidarity at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Vucic was less critical of the EU this time, although he has said he ‘felt sick’ when he learned that some unnamed Member States were receiving vaccination doses several times higher than the number needed to inoculate their populations, while he delayed deliveries to poorer countries.
Although Serbia is formally seeking EU membership, it has turned to China and Russia at the same time, which has also pledged to supply large quantities of the Sputnik V vaccine developed by Russia.
Vucic’s office said in a statement Wednesday that he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin urging him to deliver additional doses of the Russian vaccine “so Serbian citizens can get reliable protection against the coronavirus as soon as possible.”
Vucic also said Serbia will build a facility with the help of Russian experts to produce the Sputnik V vaccines.
There are widespread concerns in the EU about the safety and effectiveness of the Chinese and Russian vaccines, as they have not followed all the required studies before receiving approval in their country.
However, Hungary broke with the EU by granting provisional licenses to both Sinopharm and Sputnik V. Russian scientists say Sputnik V appears safe and effective against COVID-19, according to the first results of an advanced study published Tuesday in a British medical journal .
Vaccine administration is becoming a foreign policy issue in the Balkans, which was promised through the UN-backed COVAX facility that the EU would receive assistance in securing, but no recordings have been made through the program so far.
Serbia has managed to purchase the Chinese vaccine and smaller quantities of Sputnik V and Pfizer-BioN-Tech vaccines through direct deals, enabling the country to launch one of the fastest vaccination campaigns in Europe.
Vucic urged China on Wednesday to deliver the rest of the vaccines ordered by Serbia as soon as possible. He has not specified the amount.