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Lavrov confirms his meeting with Brazilian president on Thursday

The Russian top diplomat did not comment on media reports that his trip to Brasilia for talks with the president could be cancelled due to the lack of guarantees for fuel amid the distributor’s sanction concerns

RIO DE JANEIRO, February 22. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has confirmed that he plans to meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva later in the day.

"Such a meeting will take place today," he told journalists after a Group of Twenty ministerial meeting.

When asked to comment on media reports that his trip to Brasilia for talks with the president could be cancelled due to the lack of guarantees for fuel amid the distributor’s sanction concerns, Lavrov said, "I’d prefer not to comment on problems our Brazilian hosts may have with fuel for foreign guests’ jets. The situation is as it is and this is a vivid example to see how geopolitics influence not merely the economy but also normal interstate ties."

"It just happened that there are practically no aircraft fueling companies in Brazil that are not owned by Western corporations," Lavrov added.

He applauded the Brazilian side for doing "its best to resolve this problem."