MOSCOW, January 23. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Argentine counterpart Mauricio Macri will hold talks on Tuesday to discuss bilateral and international issues and sign a joint statement, the Kremlin press service said.
Argentina’s leader arrived on his first official visit to Moscow on Monday. During the visit he will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie and Secretary for Strategic Affairs Fulvio Pompeo. Russia is the first stopover in Macri’s European tour. After Moscow, the Argentine leader will attend the World Economic Forum in Switzerland’s Davos and will pay a visit to France.
The Kremlin said "the parties plan to discuss the issues of development of Russian-Argentine comprehensive strategic partnership in the political, trade-economic and cultural-humanitarian spheres, as well as share opinions on current issues on the international agenda." "After the negotiations, the Russian and Argentine presidents will sign a joint statement and make statements for mass media," the Kremlin noted.
History of contacts
This is not the first personal contact between Putin and Macri. The two leaders met for the first time in September 2016 in China on the sidelines of the G20 summit. The Argentine leader called for stepping up cooperation with Russia, in particular in energy. In November last year, the two presidents had a phone conversation. Putin offered assistance in the effort to search for the San Juan submarine that went missing in the Atlantic Ocean. In his Christmas message the Russian president confirmed readiness to continue joint work to boost cooperation in various areas - both on a bilateral basis and in the framework of the G20. Putin said the G20 will actively develop its activity under Argentina’s presidency in 2018.
Argentine Ambassador to Russia Ricardo Lagorio said in an interview with TASS earlier that the upcoming visit of the country’s leader to Russia shows the high level of relations between the two countries, which may be called strategic partnership. Although the visit will be brief, its context and atmosphere are important. "A very important meeting of our presidents will take place. It will give a new impetus to all-encompassing strategic partnership of Russia and Argentina," he said.
Lagorio said the upcoming meeting will usher in mutual visits in 2018. Mauricio Macri plans to attend the FIFA World Cup in Moscow in June and in late November the Russian president will attend the G20 summit in Buenos Aires.
Argentina is one of Russia’s leading trade and economic partners in Latin America. Argentina is interested in Russia’s participation in its infrastructure projects and the sides are also studying the opportunities of cooperating in energy, space and resource development.
The Argentine ambassador said after the meeting a joint political declaration will be drawn up that may mention military and technical cooperation. "But it would be wrong to reduce military and technical cooperation only to buying or selling armaments, this is a broader issue," he said. "For example, what you did in a situation when our submarine went missing is a clear sign that we appreciate very much.".