Maas criticizes vaccine diplomacy

On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of the G20 countries met. The focus was on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced that he would also address the so-called vaccine diplomacy of China and Russia at the meeting, „of which we think nothing“. The COVID-19 pandemic should not be about „short-term geostrategic advantages„, Maas said. Rather, the G20 should join forces to fight the Covid pandemic. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also stressed the importance of providing Covid vaccines to poorer countries. The meeting in Matera, Italy, was the first face-to-face meeting in two years – previously the ministers had exchanged views virtually. nib