Putin Leaves Meeting with Russian Businessmen to Take Call from Brazilian President

The President pointed out that Brazil was Russia’s leading trade and economic partner in Latin America

MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin briefly left a meeting with members of the Business Russia organization on Friday to hold a telephone conversation with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

"Dear colleagues, let’s continue. I’ve just had a conversation with the Brazilian president. With his permission, I would like to convey his best wishes of success and business prosperity to all participants in today’s meeting and Russia’s business community in general," the head of state said, explaining why he had to briefly leave the Business Russia meeting.

Putin pointed out that Brazil was Russia’s leading trade and economic partner in Latin America. "Actually, our trade has slightly declined this year due to payment difficulties but in general, the potential is very good. Last year, trade reached record levels," the Russian president noted.

However, he expressed hope that the situation would improve. "The solution is simple: shifting to payment in national currencies," the Russian leader concluded.

Putin, Brazilian president discuss joint work within BRICS — Kremlin

The two presidents also discussed "current issues of Russian-Brazilian strategic partnership and expressed mutual interest in its further development and the expansion of practical cooperation in various fields"

MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil discussed issues of the two countries’ joint work within BRICS and other international platforms, the Kremlin press service said on Friday after their phone call.

The presidents "discussed issues of joint work within BRICS and other multilateral formats," it said, adding that the Brazilian leader shared his impressions from his participation in the recent Group of Seven summit.

The two presidents also discussed "current issues of Russian-Brazilian strategic partnership and expressed mutual interest in its further development and the expansion of practical cooperation in various fields," the Kremlin said.

"The conversation had a constructive and substantive character," it added.