Serbia to donate 50,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Iran

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Serbia on Friday announced plans to donate 50,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to Iran.

Speaking in Tehran, where he attended the inauguration of President Ebrahim Raeisi on Thursday, parliament speaker Ivica Dacic said Iran was a traditional friend of Serbia.

"We always had a mutual understanding for all problems, the double standards of the international community. Iran has not recognized Kosovo and supports Serbia in international organizations. On the other hand, Serbia takes care of Iran's interests," Dacic told the Serbian state TV network RTS.

He added that Belgrade and Tehran want to improve their economic cooperation for development.

Serbia was has conducted the second-fastest vaccine rollout in Europe so far.

With plentiful supplies of Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sputnik V, and the Chinese Shinopharm vaccines, it raced ahead of EU countries, offering jabs across the border in Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The latest figures show 39% of Serbia's of population fully vaccinated.