French President Macron Says Russian, Chinese Vaccines Crucial for Beating Coronavirus

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - French President Emmanuel Macron has insisted that Russian and Chinese vaccines should play a bigger role in a coordinated global effort to beat the coronavirus pandemic, which he called a "world war."

"We should work with the Chinese and Russians so that the vaccines … become part of this big multilateral effort", he told the Journal du Dimanche weekly.

Macron compared the emergence of mutated strains to a "pandemic within the pandemic." He warned that the world was in a race against time to contain the viral variants before they "escape."

"We still need to step up efforts because every week counts", the French president said.

Russia’s Sputnik V shot has been given the green light for use in more than 20 countries. The Russian sovereign wealth fund RDIF estimates that it is one of the three vaccines with the most government approvals.