Lavrov Believes Introduction Of Coronavirus Passports In Europe Runs Counter To Democracy

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed the belief on Tuesday that introduction of so-called coronavirus passports in the European Union would violate the principle of voluntary inoculation and also run counter to democratic norms

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd March, 2021) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed the belief on Tuesday that introduction of so-called coronavirus passports in the European Union would violate the principle of voluntary inoculation and also run counter to democratic norms.

EU leaders have agreed to introduce electronic certificates by the summer. The certificates are expected to confirm that a person got vaccinated or developed antibodies after surviving the disease.

"Many people say that this idea is contrary to the rules of democracy, because there is a decision in the EU that vaccination is voluntary. If this COVID passport is introduced, it will be against the principle of voluntariness.

So people will be forced. We'll see how it ends. Hopefully, the decision will be made taking into consideration the opinion of the member countries and not just imposed on them. The voluntariness factor is highly important," Lavorv said at a press conference, held after negotiations with Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov.

The Russian diplomat found it difficult to predict how this would affect Russian citizens' opportunities.

"We must wait until there is a final solution to this problem. We have informed our EU colleagues that we are counting on decisions that will not discriminate Russian citizens," Lavrov noted.