Beijing and Moscow have stepped up “state-sponsored disinformation” campaigns denigrating vaccines developed in the West against COVID-19 while promoting their own, the EU said on Wednesday.
“The so-called ‘vaccine diplomacy’ follows a zero-sum game logic” that seeks to “undermine trust in Western-made vaccines, EU institutions and Western/European vaccination strategies,” said a report from the EU’s foreign service, the European External Action Service (EEAS).
Since December last year, Russian media, authorities and state companies have united behind pushing the Sputnik V vaccine while using “antagonistic messaging” to accuse the EU of “sabotaging” the Russian jab, the report said.
Photo: AP
“Pro-Kremlin media outlets, including the official Sputnik V Twitter account, have sought to undermine public trust in the European Medicines Agency [EMA] and cast doubt on its procedures and political impartiality,” the report said.
The report said that state-backed media had tried to “sow confusion” over an application for marketing approval by the Russian Sputnik V vaccine in a bid to fuel the narrative that the body had been deliberately delaying giving the greenlight.
“Pro-Kremlin outlets have also accused the EMA and the EU in general of political bias against the Russian-made vaccine,” it said.
Beijing was promoting its vaccines as “more suitable for developing countries,” including those in the Western Balkans, while deploying “misleading narratives” about the safety of Western vaccines and even on the origin of COVID-19, the EU report said.
Sputnik V, the vaccine maker that is financed by Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, hit back at the EU charges on Twitter, writing that it is the target of “unfortunate daily information attacks mostly from some EU media.”
It said it was acting in “the interests of protecting lives around the world and avoiding vaccine monopoly that some vaccine producers may strive for” and said that it was “in positive dialogue with EMA.”
“If EEAS believes that any specific information is not accurate, we would appreciate an official letter outlining what specific statements seem to be factually incorrect,” it added.
The EU’s vaccine rollout has faced widespread criticism from within the bloc as delivery shortfalls hampered early efforts to get jabs into arms. There have also been concerns over the safety of some vaccines — especially AstraZeneca — over links to rare blood clots and some countries have restricted its use.
Brussels insists that deliveries are picking up and the bloc is on target to inoculate 70 percent of adults by the end of July. Nonetheless EU member Hungary broke ranks and has been administering the Russian and Chinese jabs, while Austria and Germany said they are in talks to purchase Sputnik V.
The EMA launched a rolling review of Sputnik V last month. If it receives the regulator’s approval it would be the first non-Western COVID-19 vaccine authorized for use across the 27-nation bloc.
REBUILDING: A researcher said that it might seem counterintuitive to start talking about reconstruction amid the war with Russia, but it is ‘actually an urgent priority’ Italy is hosting the fourth annual conference on rebuilding Ukraine even as Russia escalates its war, inviting political and business leaders to Rome to promote public-private partnerships on defense, mining, energy and other projects as uncertainty grows about the US’ commitment to Kyiv’s defense. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy were opening the meeting yesterday, which gets under way as Russia accelerated its aerial and ground attacks against Ukraine with another night of pounding missile and drone attacks on Kyiv. Italian organizers said that 100 official delegations were attending, as were 40 international organizations and development banks. There are
TARIFF ACTION: The US embassy said that the ‘political persecution’ against former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro disrespects the democratic traditions of the nation The US and Brazil on Wednesday escalated their row over US President Donald Trump’s support for former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, with Washington slapping a 50 percent tariff on one of its main steel suppliers. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva threatened to reciprocate. Trump has criticized the prosecution of Bolsonaro, who is on trial for allegedly plotting to cling on to power after losing 2022 elections to Lula. Brasilia on Wednesday summoned Washington’s top envoy to the country to explain an embassy statement describing Bolsonaro as a victim of “political persecution” — echoing Trump’s description of the treatment of Bolsonaro as
The military is to begin conscripting civilians next year, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet said yesterday, citing rising tensions with Thailand as the reason for activating a long-dormant mandatory enlistment law. The Cambodian parliament in 2006 approved a law that would require all Cambodians aged 18 to 30 to serve in the military for 18 months, although it has never been enforced. Relations with Thailand have been tense since May, when a long-standing territorial dispute boiled over into cross-border clashes, killing one Cambodian soldier. “This episode of confrontation is a lesson for us and is an opportunity for us to review, assess and
Pakistani police yesterday said a father shot dead his daughter after she refused to delete her TikTok account. In the Muslim-majority country, women can be subjected to violence by family members for not following strict rules on how to behave in public, including in online spaces. “The girl’s father had asked her to delete her TikTok account. On refusal, he killed her,” a police spokesperson said. Investigators said the father killed his 16-year-old daughter on Tuesday “for honor,” the police report said. The man was subsequently arrested. The girl’s family initially tried to “portray the murder as a suicide” said police in