Russia pledges quick supply of Sputnik V vaccine to Maldives

Russia has stated that it will supply the COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V to the Maldives as quickly as possible, as the Maldives works to obtain vaccines to bolster the nation's vaccine program. 

The Maldivian Foreign Ministry said in a statement today that Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a phone call last night. 

In the phone call, the two discussed the COVID-19 situation and Minister Shahid explain the difficulties faced by the Maldives currently and how to overcome these difficulties. 

Minister Lavrov during the phone call then pledged to provide the Sputnik V vaccine doses to the Maldives as soon as possible. The Maldives has been trying to obtain the vaccine due to delays of the Covishield (Astrazeneca-Oxford University) vaccine from India and Astrazeneca. 

Among other things, the Foreign Ministers also spoke on furthering the relationship between the two nations. 

The Maldives approved the Sputnik V vaccine earlier this month. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, in a press conference, announced that the Maldives was now working on placing an order for the vaccine and the Health Minister Ahmed Naseem said in the press conference that the vaccine would be provided within four weeks of signing the agreement. The Maldives will procure 200,000 doses of the vaccine from Russia.