BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 2
Trend:
If developed countries can't share these vaccines fairly and make mutual accusations, then what should other countries do, President Ilham Aliyev said in an interview to the Azerbaijani Television following viewing conditions created at the newly constructed building of Absheron District Central Hospital, Trend reports.
“The United Kingdom was a member of the European Union, and countries of the European Union have been connected with the United Kingdom over centuries. At the same time, these countries are members of NATO, and such a scandal between them, of course, raises many questions. We see this in the open media. For example, I recently saw EU officials accuse the UK of distributing the vaccine they produce unfairly. I even remember some figures. It was stated that 13 percent of British citizens have already been vaccinated, whereas in the EU the figure is only at 2 percent. If this trend continues, the UK will provide 75 percent of its population with the vaccine by July, whereas the European Union will do that only in October. So these are very thought-provoking statements. In fact, we saw that some embargoes were imposed after that. As you know, some production sites are established in Europe. That is why such a scandal broke out. Of course, we need to look at this carefully. If developed countries can't share these vaccines fairly and make mutual accusations, then what should other countries do? Who will help poor countries, those living in developing countries? Doesn’t anyone think about that? I have not heard such calls from the leaders of developed countries so far,” the Azerbaijani president said.
“That is why we, as a country chairing the Non-Aligned Movement and committed to our word, are already raising this issue on the global arena. When I took over the chairmanship, I said that Azerbaijan would defend international law and justice, protect the interests of all member countries, and we are doing exactly that. The holding of these two summits and one special session shows that we are acting as a responsible country in this area as well, and we will continue to raise our voice. It is not ruled out that the fight for vaccines will intensify, which may lead to very tragic consequences,” the head of state said.