SCO Summit: Putin says all Russian COVID vaccines 'effective'; hopes for peace in Karabakh

Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the virtual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit on November 10 and talked about the efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine and even noted the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. Touting the two vaccines developed in Russia to tackle the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, Putin said that they are “effective and “safe” while also informing about the third one in the process.

While many nations including the United States showcased scepticism when Russia had announced its ‘world’s first’ COVID-19 vaccine in August, Putin at SCO warned against politicising the novel coronavirus jab issue. He even said that Moscow is willing to support the idea of providing the treatment to other nations who are in dire need of drugs and other necessary goods. Russian President’s remarks came in the backdrop of the vaccine dubbed as ‘Sputnik V’ nearing the end of its phase three clinical trials. 

"We have two registered vaccines in Russia, and the trials have already confirmed that the vaccines are safe, there are no side effects, and they are efficient. A third vaccine is in the pipeline," he said in his address to the Council of the Heads of State of the SCO.

"They are effective, the people who have been vaccinated and who have then had contact with people who have contracted the coronavirus have not contracted the coronavirus themselves, or they only have mild symptoms," he added as per media outlet cited by PTI.

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Putin wishes for lasting peace in Armenia, Azerbaijan

While Armenia and Azerbaijan have reached another peace agreement, Putin said that Russia hopes for a lasting peace between both nations over the conflicted region of Nagorno-Karabakh. At the SCO summit, the Russian President said that the “last steps” that Moscow has taken in facilitating the latest truce are in the hope that peace prevails in the unrest-stricken region that has already led to the loss of lives and properties for several weeks and years. 

“I hope these last steps we have taken will ensure long-term peace for the peoples of Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Putin said.

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Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on November 10 declared that he has signed a 'painful' agreement with the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia to end the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. His announcement came six weeks after the heavy fighting in which Azerbaijan’s forces have retaken land lost in a conflict between the two countries in the 1990s. The conflict has left hundreds of dead and forced thousands of ethnic Armenians to flee into Armenia.

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Image: AP