French Secretary Of State Refutes Claims Sputnik V Approval Politically Motivated

The French secretary of state for European affairs, Clement Beaune, on Tuesday refuted claims that Europe does not buy Russia's Sputnik V for political reasons

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th April, 2021) The French secretary of state for European affairs, Clement Beaune, on Tuesday refuted claims that Europe does not buy Russia's Sputnik V for political reasons.

Earlier this month, Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of the far-left France Untamed political party and a former presidential candidate, claimed that Paris was refusing the procurement of the Russian vaccine over ideological considerations despite awareness of its efficacy for a long time.

"We cannot tell the people - we will give you the Russian vaccine because it is cute, or because Mr.

Melenchon likes it, or because of Russian propaganda. We do not exclude it, we study it," Beaune said on air of the Franceinfo broadcaster.

He explained that the evaluation of Sputnik V by the European Medicines Agency, underway since March 4, could take up to three more months to complete.

Meanwhile, Sputnik V has been authorized for emergency use in 60 countries across the globe. According to an interim analysis from the trial published in The Lancet, the vaccine has 91.6 percent efficacy.