MOSCOW, September 25. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding a meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro, who arrived in Russia for an official visit on Tuesday.

The meeting, which is taking place in the Kremlin, also involves Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin.

The Kremlin press service said earlier that the two presidents "will discuss pressing bilateral issues, as well as key regional and global problems, particularly those related to the complicated situation around Venezuela."

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in turn, told reporters that Putin and Maduro would first hold a one-on-one meeting, which would be followed by Russian-Venezuelan talks in the form of a working lunch. According to Peskov, the parties will discuss bilateral relations. "We have some joint projects that are being implemented, and there also are other aspects of cooperation to discuss," he said, adding that no documents were planned to be signed following the talks. The Kremlin spokesman emphasized that the leaders "will certainly exchange views on regional issues, particularly those related to the Ibero-American region, including direct foreign interference in the region’s affairs."

Upon arrival in Moscow, Maduro wrote on Twitter that "the brotherly ties we have built in recent years are the foundation for the prosperous future of Venezuela." He added that his visit was aimed at deepening "historical, very positive relations" between the two countries. The Venezuelan president also said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel that Caracas considered Moscow to be an important partner in areas such as defense, the energy sector and trade.