Hungary’s Péter Szijjártó said he had phoned Mikhail Murashko, whose country “is taking huge steps towards developing and producing a vaccine”.

Once the clinical trials are completed, Hungary and Russia will cooperate in obtaining a licence for the Russian vaccine, Szijjártó said, adding that the chief medical officers of the two countries would discuss the matter on Friday.

Szijjártó, who is in home quarantine after testing positive for coronavirus, said he had mild Covid-19 symptoms.

Earlier on Thursday, a state secretary of the foreign ministry said that Hungary could also receive coronavirus vaccine samples from a Chinese manufacturer for testing.

Tamás Menczer said on Facebook that Hungary was “close” to getting the vaccine, adding that “this would be a great step because Hungarian experts could be testing a possible coronavirus vaccine,” and it could put Hungary in the forefront of European coronavirus research.

Negotiations are under way with three Chinese, a Russian, and an Israeli producer, Menczer said.