MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st March, 2021) It is regrettable that COVID-19 vaccines get dragged into a geopolitical confrontation resembling Cold War times while being of utmost importance for saving lives across the whole of humanity, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.
"The times now, as the coronavirus pandemic has shown, demand that we stop creating the problem of confrontation and hostility about everything. Even with regard to vaccines, we can see how the desire sometimes prevails to turn this topic, which is important for the whole of humanity, above all for ensuring every person's right to life, into a subject of geopolitical fabrications as well. This is unfortunate," Lavrov said at a meeting with representatives of foreign media accredited in Russia.
The minister commended the "overwhelming majority" of Russian-accredited foreign journalists for trying to get the gist of things when reporting on the pandemic, adding that Moscow was open to a collaboration with them in analyzing the developments in an impartial manner.
"We are far from imposing our point of view on anyone, neither our fellow diplomats nor you. And in turn we expect you to cover events in the same way � showing them from all sides and objectively. In my view, this kind of mutual trust among politicians, diplomats and journalists is a guarantee of work success both for you and us," Lavrov said.
While being open to a constructive discussion, Lavrov said Moscow "certainly cannot accept as granted" being subjected to fake news and cliches typical of the Cold War era.
