According to both readouts on the call, the Russian and Brazilian Presidents Vladimir Putin and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva covered a great deal of ground when they spoke today by telephone.
Defending Venezuela’s sovereignty was a leading topic. They “exchanged views on current international issues, focusing on the situation surrounding Venezuela,” the Russian President’s website reported, and “they emphasized that Russia and Brazil shared fundamental stances as to ensuring the sovereignty and national interests of the Bolivarian Republic [of Venezuela].” President Lula reported similarly that they had “expressed concern about the situation in Venezuela and reiterated the importance of South America and the Caribbean remaining zones of peace.”
Both reported that the Presidents “defended the role of the BRICS countries strengthening global governance institutions, in particular the United Nations and its Security Council,” in regard to de-escalating tensions both in Latin America and other regions of the world.
The other major topic was the upcoming meeting of the Russian-Brazilian High-Level Commission on Cooperation, which is scheduled to be held next month. The Russian President’s website reported that “the leaders had a thorough discussion of issues pertaining to further development of the bilateral ties in a wide range of areas,” while Lula reported that the two “agreed that the bilateral meeting will be an opportunity to boost priority areas such as trade, agriculture, defense, energy, science and technology, education, and culture.” According to Lula, President Putin committed to sending a high-level delegation to participate in person at the meeting in Brasilia.
