Russia steps up vaccine diplomacy in Maghreb, North Africa
Russia expands its area of influence in the Maghreb as Tunisia and Algeria receive batches of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, raising questions about Moscow's motives.
The first batch of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Tunisia on March 9, three days after a phone conversation between Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The shipment of 30,000 doses came nearly a month after its scheduled delivery and after repeated delays of other types of vaccines. Tunisian Minister of Health Faouzi Mahdi had attributed on Feb. 18 the delay in supply of the vaccines to the conditions imposed by the suppliers.
In an interview with Al-Monitor, Mahdi said one of these conditions was for Tunisia to issue a law related to setting exceptional provisions on civil liability resulting from the use of vaccines against COVID-19 and reparation for the damages caused by it. The Tunisian parliament passed this law on Feb. 9.
Russia did not set any conditions for the supply of the Sputnik V vaccine to Tunisia. A statement by the Tunisian government on March 3 said that Mechichi and Lavrov stressed during their phone call “the need to intensify efforts and fruitful cooperation in combating the spread of the coronavirus.”
