PARIS — France on Friday accused Russia of using its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine as a tool to spread Moscow’s influence and message rather than a way to fight the global health crisis.
“In terms of how it is managed, it (the Sputnik V vaccine) is more a means of propaganda and aggressive diplomacy than a means of solidarity and health aid,” Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told France Info radio.
The Russian vaccine has come under much criticism in Western countries, while President Vladimir Putin — who got a Sputnik jab himself on Tuesday — has dismissed the skepticism as “strange.”
Le Drian said both Russia and China were using their vaccines to gain influence abroad…
Keep on reading: France slams Russia’s Sputnik vaccine as ‘propaganda’ tool