MOSCOW, March 11. /TASS/. Members of the Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) aim to facilitate regional cooperation between Russia and Venezuela, Chairman of the Russian Federation Council's Foreign Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev said on Monday after a meeting with Venezuelan Ambassador in Russia Carlos Rafael Faria Tortosa.

"The immediate reason for our meeting was the agreement reached on March 3 during the meeting between Venezuelan Acting Vice President Delcy Rodriguez and Russian Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko. Among other things, they talked about the need to cooperate and activate interregional relations," Kosachev said.

According to the Russian lawmaker, Rodriguez said that "the Venezuelan society and national economy need to purchase certain goods from Russia." "We have been tasked with starting practical consultations on this issue and estimating Venezuela’s actual needs, as well as the real capacities of Russian regions, and try to combine these two positions in the interest of the Venezuelan people and the development of interregional relations," Kosachev said.

Kosachev added that so far, 23 Russian regions have established trade and economic relations with Venezuela, noting that this number should increase in the future.