The World Health Organization (WHO) is still unable to provide a definitive timeline for the inclusion of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V in the Emergency Use Listing (EUL), Melita Vujnovic, the organization's representative in Russia said, TASS reported.

Her remarks came on Tuesday at an online briefing by the European Regional Office.

Vujnovic stressed that the vaccine registration process is the same for everyone according to a process of agreement between the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which provides the documents, and the WHO, which takes certain steps. The documents submitted last autumn and this winter are currently under review, and field inspections are planned at the end of this year.

In late December, Hans Kluge, head of the WHO Regional Office for Europe, said in an interview with TASS that he hoped for a speedy completion of the approval process for Russia's Sputnik V vaccine. Kluge denied that such a long approval process for the Russian vaccine was politicizing the issue. He noted that the vaccine approval process is the same for all manufacturers, who must meet the same criteria as everyone else.

The bureau chief explained that the WHO Emergency Use Listing Procedure (EUL) is a risk-based procedure for assessing and listing unlicensed vaccines, therapeutics and in vitro diagnostics with the ultimate aim of expediting the availability of these products to people affected by a public health emergency. The procedure is a key tool for companies wishing to submit their products for use during health emergencies. He added that WHO uses the same criteria to evaluate any given product, in this case the COVID-19 vaccine.