MOCOW, October 20. /TASS/. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov has said that he doesn’t think that the cancellation of Brazilian President Inacio Lula da Silva’s visit to the BRICS summit in Kazan is linked with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision not to go to the Group of Twenty summit in Brazil.

"No," he said when asked by TASS whether there could any connection between these things. In his words, no one in the Kremlin "has such a thought."

The press service of the Brazilian president said earlier in the day that Lula da Silva would not be able to attend the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 22-24 because of health problems as medics had recommended that he refrain from long flights.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with heads of BRICS media outlets that he will not be attending the G20 summit in Brazil this year in order to avoid disrupting the event but promised to send a high-ranking official to represent Russia at the summit. He stressed that he maintained "good friendly relations" with his Brazilian counterpart.