MOSCOW, May 9. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin invited Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo at their meeting in Moscow to travel to Russia again, but on a state visit.

"Dear Mr. President, this is not the first time you have come to our country. However, no state visit to Russia has ever taken place. I am delighted to invite you to pay a state visit to Russia. We will negotiate any timeframe convenient for you. I will also look at my schedule, and we will come to an agreement. But I ask you to remember that we expect you to come on a state visit," the Russian leader said.

Meanwhile, the Guinea-Bissau president said that he hopes that the Russian president would visit his country in case he went on a tour of Africa, and now he was looking forward to a meeting of foreign ministers.

"I hope that one day you will go on a tour of African countries and include Guinea-Bissau on your program," Embalo told Putin. "In my opinion, it is crucial that our friend - Foreign Minister [Sergey Lavrov] - will take part in this. We have already received a lot of high-ranking officials. Now we expect meetings at the level of foreign ministers and other Russian representatives.".