MOSCOW, August 25. /TASS/. Moscow is ready to bolster relations across the board with Uruguay, as Montevideo’s balanced foreign policy has eschewed joining the West’s anti-Russian sanctions, a statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry said on the occasion of Uruguayan Independence Day.

"On August 25, the Eastern Republic of Uruguay is marking its national holiday, Independence Day. Uruguay’s statehood has always been distinguished by a balanced foreign policy and strict observance of international law. This is confirmed by Montevideo’s rejection of the Western policy of unilateral anti-Russian sanctions," the Foreign Ministry pointed out. "We are ready for the further strengthening of cooperation in bilateral and multilateral formats in order to implement the existing potential in the fields of economy, science, education and culture," the Russian diplomatic agency emphasized.

The Foreign Ministry noted that the multifaceted ties between Russia and Uruguay are characterized by a constructive, pragmatic nature based on "historic closeness and mutual inclination, uniting the peoples" of the two countries. "It is no accident that the city of San Javier, founded by our compatriots 110 years ago, the only locality in the Southern Hemisphere where the descendants of Russian emigrants predominate, is located precisely in Uruguay," the diplomatic agency added, wishing the friendly Uruguayan people prosperity and well-being.