Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday, discussed the possibility of jointly producing coronavirus vaccines through a phone a phone call, reported AFP, quoting Kremlin.

In a statement, Kremlin said, “Issues of cooperation in combating the coronavirus pandemic were discussed with an emphasis on the possible prospects for joint production of vaccines.”

According to Kremlin, an agreement was reached to “continue contacts on the issue” between the two countries’ health ministries and specialised agencies.

Also read: More than 50 countries launch COVID-19 vaccination campaigns

Putin and Merkel further discussed the settlement of the conflict between Kiev and pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine, that has largely remained at a standstill since peace accords were signed in 2015.

Both the nations have recently started mass vaccination drives at home to curb the spread of the coronavirus, with Germany using the vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and the Mainz-based company BioNtech while Russia using its homemade jab Sputnik V.

Russia announced the registration of Sputnik — named after the Soviet-era satellite — in August, before the start of large-scale clinical trials, raising concerns over the fast-tracked procedure.

Some critics have described it as a tool to bolster Russia’s geopolitical influence.

Russia started a mass vaccination drive in early December, making the jab first available to high-risk groups including medics, teachers and the elderly.

Alexander Gintsburg, the director of the state-run Gamaleya research centre that developed Sputnik, on Tuesday said that over 1 million people in Russia have received the jab so far.

Moscow also sent batches of its vaccine to Belarus, Serbia and Argentina and announced that 2.6 million doses will be supplied to Bolivia but acknowledged that it was struggling with production capacity.

In another sign of recognition for the Sputnik jab that has been viewed with scepticism by the West, British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca in December announced a clinical trial programme that would use a combination of its vaccine and the Russian one.

Both use the adenovirus vectors, although it remains unclear when these tests will go ahead.