RIO DE JANEIRO, August 21. /TASS/. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said that he would like to discuss the issues on the BRICS summit agenda personally with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

At the event, Russia will be represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "Lavrov is a very important and experienced diplomat but it would be very important for Russia to be represented by its president at the meeting. We will discuss important global issues such as peace and fighting inequality and I would really like to have the opportunity to discuss them personally with President Putin," the Globo newspaper quoted him as saying.

According to the Brazilian leader, among other issues, the BRICS leaders are going to discuss the use of alternative financial instruments to increase trade turnover within the union which would help them decrease dependency on external currencies.

The BRICS summit takes place in Johannesburg on August 22-24 and promises to be the largest meeting of heads of state and government of Global South countries in recent years. The leaders of 54 African countries have been invited to attend. Russian President Vladimir Putin will participate in the event via video link.