Russian, Brazilian Foreign Ministers Discuss Bilateral Ties, Mull Trade Talks
17:03 GMT 17.04.2023 (Updated: 17:59 GMT 17.04.2023)
© Photo : Press Service of Russian Foreign Ministry
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BRASILIA (Sputnik) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira discussed on Monday bilateral relations and negotiated dates for meetings of intergovernmental commissions, including the commission on trade.
"We indeed discussed the current issues which remain pending for various reasons," Lavrov said at the meeting in Brasilia, adding that the countries "will move forward to agree on the dates for the intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation, commission on political cooperation. And this will culminate in convening the meeting of the high-level commission chaired by our [Russian] Prime Minister [Mikhail Mishustin] and your [Brazilian] Vice President [Geraldo Alckmin]."
The Russian minister also noted that Moscow highly values its relations with Brazil, since both countries share a mutual desire to maintain their economic, humanitarian and educational dialogue, as well as technological, military and technical cooperation.
17 April 2023, 11:47 GMT
Additionally, Vieira mentioned that this year marks the 195th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Brazil.
"During our previous meeting we touched upon a number of interesting issues in our bilateral relations, which are very rich and very deep. Not only in commercial and in trade terms. And we have registered last year a record level of foreign trade, which is very promising and very good for us," the top Brazilian diplomat said.
Vieira also noted that the Russian foreign minister extended President Vladimir Putin's invitation to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to visit Russia.
"Mr. Lavrov also conveyed President Putin's invitation for President Lula da Silva to arrange an official visit to Russia. And we will work to determine dates convenient for both sides," Vieira told a press conference following talks with Lavrov.
The Russian minister, in turn, invited Vieira to visit Moscow.
"The talks were very useful, they confirmed the mutual intention to further strengthen our strategic partnership. I invited the minister to visit the Russian Federation at a time convenient for him. All of our employees will remain in close contact over the relevant areas of our relations," Lavrov said.
Furthermore, the Russian foreign minister expressed Moscow's gratitute for Brazil's balanced stance on the conflict in Ukraine and its willingness to contribute to the peace process.
"We are grateful to our Brazilian friends for their excellent understanding of the genesis of this situation, and we are grateful for their willingness to contribute to the search for ways to resolve it," Lavrov said standing alongside Vieira.
Lavrov said Russia was interested in ending the conflict in Ukraine as quickly as possible and had more than once explained the goals it was pursuing in conducting its special military operation.
Russia's top diplomat reiterated that such issues as the Ukrainian conflict needed to be addressed multilaterally, with an eye on a long-term solution rather than a quick fix, while considering national security interests of all stakeholders without exception.
17 April 2023, 05:00 GMT
Lavrov is paying an official visit to Brazil. The Russian foreign minister is also scheduled to visit Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba, as part of his tour of Latin America on April 17-21.
