European Officials See Politics Behind Sputnik Balkan Delay
- Officials say North Macedonia paying price for siding with EU
- Russian vaccine producer denies that politics are at play
Vials of the Russian Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine.
Photographer: Carolina Cabral Fernandez/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
European officials believe Russia delayed deliveries of the Sputnik V vaccine to North Macedonia for geopolitical reasons.
The reason why, according to two officials familiar with the matter, is that North Macedonia was one of three western Balkan countries to sign up to a declaration in January and to human rights sanctions at the end of March over opposition politician Alexey Navalny’s arrest. The Russian vaccine producer denied the allegations.