Sputnik V has now become a bone of contention between countries in the West. The Slovak government is about to collapse because of it. Vestnik Kavkaza analyses why the Russian vaccine is still being persecuted in Europe.
Only yesterday, our vaccine caused doubts in the world. Critics said that Sputnik has yet to pass all the necessary testing, and that Putin allegedly ordered to turn it into a political weapon. However, in less than a couple of months the authoritative magazine The Lancet confirmed Sputnik V vaccine's effectiveness. Then countries have started massively certifying it. Argentina, Mexico, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Egypt are already using the Russian vaccine. To date, it was adopted by almost fifty countries, including two EU countries - Hungary and Slovakia. Italian authorities signed a deal to manufacture Sputnik V near Milan.
These measures are absolutely logical. The coronavirus pandemic is still raging in Europe. Germany and Poland are now in the grip of a third wave of COVID-19. France and Italy are once again extending lockdowns - allowing people to only visit grocery stores and pharmacies. The restrictions cause social discontent. There were protests in Amsterdam; on March 21, security forces once again used water cannons against participants of the protest. EU prime ministers and chancellors will hold their next summit via videoconference due to COVID-19 pandemic.
As you can imagine, the situation is catastrophic. There are only two ways out of it: either the authorities of the EU member states close everyone at home again - but then no one guarantees the safety of the Merkel or Macron regime - or vaccinate everyone. Part of the EU population has been vaccinated, but they don't have the necessary production capacity for 500 million people. Especially taking into account the Anglo-Swedish AstraZeneca's deadly side effect.
The Sputnik V vaccine would be the EU's way out of the crisis. Nevertheless, there were politicians in one of the European countries who were ready to put their population in jeopardy to counter "Russian influence". I am referring to Slovakia.
Nationalists in the ruling coalition, including leader 'For People' party and Deputy Prime Minister Veronika Remisova and 'Freedom and Solidarity' party leader Richard Sulik, chastised Prime Minister Igor Matovich for purchasing Sputnik V. Remisova demanded Matovich's resignation if he does not refuse the Russian vaccine. The prime minister replied that he was ready to resign if Minister of Economy and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Sulik, head of the parliamentary health committee Jana Bitto Ciganikova (Freedom and Solidarity Party), Minister of Justice Maria Kolikova ('For the People') and Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Juraj Seliga ('For the People') make the same decision. The 'Freedom and Solidarity' and 'For People' parties are included in the ruling coalition together with the 'Ordinary People and Independent Personalities' (led by Prime Minister Matovich) and "We are Family" factions.
The behavior of Slovak politicians raises questions, given the fact that Slovakia has become the nation with most COVID-19 deaths by size of population in the world. In recent weeks, 100 people die there every day. There's a shortage of beds in hospitals, so patients are sent to Poland and Germany. Given the critical situation, it is very strange that members of the Cabinet still don't want Russia's vaccine. Of course, Sputnik V has not yet been approved for use in the EU, but are there really incompetent people in the Ministries of Health in 50 countries who make erroneous decisions on cooperation with Russia? And can you really trust the opinion of European medical regulators who approved AstraZeneca, which is killing people in Denmark and Sweden now?
There is only one logical justification for the Slovakian political crisis - the fight against "Russian influence." They fear in Brussels that if "Sputnik V" is successfully used in Hungary and Slovakia today, tomorrow it will start conquering the markets of Germany, France and other EU countries. Then Western vaccines will be ousted, and the rating of Putin and Russia in the eyes of Europeans will increase at the expense of local rulers. It is no coincidence that immediately after the scandal in Slovakia, European Commissioner in Charge of Internal Market Thierry Breton said that the EU has no need of Russia's vaccine.
If Europe's struggle against "Russian influence" strikes anyone as a surprise, they can be reminded that Slovakia is not the first case. In 2019, governments in two influential EU countries - Italy and Austria - collapsed, and the ruling forces of both countries called for friendship with Russia. What is more important, the "pro-Russian" parties, the Italian "League" and Austria's Freedom Party were thrown out of the governments. The same pressure on pro-Russian factions is being exerted in Germany, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
All these events in Slovakia, Austria, Germany and Italy are united by the same logic. The kings of European politics could not forgive the fact that the second person in Italy was a politician (Matteo Salvini), who wears a T-shirt adorned with a picture of Putin, Moscow's influence was increasing in the key EU country, and a vaccine named after Russia's scientific progress was conquering Eastern Europe.
