Madrid Authorities In Talks Over Sputnik V Supplies To Metropolitan Region - Adviser

Faizan Hashmi Published April 06, 2021 | 06:00 PM

MADRID (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th April, 2021) The authorities of Spain's autonomous community of Madrid are negotiating an agreement on the supply of Russia's coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V to the metropolitan area pending the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) approval of the vaccine, the Spanish region's health adviser, Enrique Ruiz Escudero, said on Tuesday, confirming media reports.

Earlier in the day, Spain's ABC daily reported, citing sources, that the autonomous community's authorities had already held several meetings with mediators to discuss the deliveries of the Russian vaccine to Madrid.

"Over two months ago, we decided to start studying all the possible options for delivering vaccines to Madrid, which will be in the interest of the rest of the national healthcare system. We have every right to do this. Moreover, we must do this. So we started holding these meetings with one of the suppliers to reach a preliminary agreement, pending, of course, the approval of the European Medicines Agency," the adviser told reporters.

The official also expressed surprise at the fact that the Russian vaccine had been under consideration by the EMA for two months, given a rather difficult epidemiological situation across the European bloc.

The first meeting on the Russian vaccine's supplies to Madrid took place back on February 11 at the request of the Spanish side, which intended to produce Sputnik V in the northwestern autonomous community of Galicia, the region's health council told Sputnik. After that, two more meetings were held in a bid to gain time while awaiting EMA's authorization.

In early March, IberAtlantic investment group told Sputnik that it was engaged in talks with both Spain's Zendal pharmaceutical company and the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Russia's sovereign wealth fund that is behind Sputnik V exports. Zendal, in turn, refused to confirm or refute the information, citing confidentiality of the negotiations.