BRASILIA, January 1. /TASS/. The speaker of Russia’s Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Valentina Matviyenko has said that she has delivered to Brazil’s newly-elected President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a written message from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"I have delivered a written message from Russia’s president to the esteemed president of Brazil. I also confirmed that Moscow is looking forward to his visit as soon as his schedule allows and he can make a trip to Russia," Matviyenko said following a meeting during her visit to Brazil for the inauguration of the newly-elected head of state.
She stressed that the participation of Russia’s delegation in the inauguration was a token of respect and a signal that "Russia is determined to further actively develop relations with friendly Brazil."
"Despite his very tight schedule the president found a time slot to meet with us. Originally it was expected it would be some kind of protocol meeting, but in fact, we talked for almost an hour. It was a very meaningful conversation," Matviyenko emphasized.
She said that she had discussed with the newly-elected president a wide range of bilateral interstate relations.
"It should be stressed that we remember very well the times when the current newly elected president Lula da Silva was in office. We had very meaningful and constructive relations between our countries then. They reached a level of strategic partnership. We also remember that President Lula da Silva was one of the founders of the BRICS group. Now it is an internationally recognized association of great authority that many countries aspire to join," Matviyenko said.