The Russian side has signed several contracts with Indian firms to manufacture over 700 million doses of the anti-coronavirus Sputnik V vaccine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday and indicated that there was also a possibility that an Indian vaccine could be manufactured in Russia.
At a joint press event after holding wide-ranging talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Mr Lavrov lauded India's vaccine manufacturing capacity and said Russia has close cooperation with the country on vaccines to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
He said the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) signed contracts with several Indian contractors to manufacture the Sputnik V vaccine to the tune of 700-750 million doses.
This becomes possible because of the manufacturing capacity in India, he added.
"I do not exclude (the scenario) that further cooperation could cover the manufacturing of the Indian vaccine in Russia. I guess the experts are supposed to discuss this and to assess the efficiency of such a cooperation," Mr Lavrov said while answering a question on the possibility of India''s indigenous vaccine COVAXIN being manufactured in Russia in the near future.