On July 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin started his tour of Latin American countries. The trip is the longest in Putin's third term.

The first stop of the tour was Havana where Vladimir Putin met Cuban leaders Fidel and Raul Castro.

On his way from Cuba to Argentina, Putin made a brief visit to Nicaragua. In Argentina Vladimir Putin signed several agreements with Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. The hosting side held an official dinner in honor of the guest.

After the visit to Argentina, Putin headed for Brazil, where he took part in the ceremony of passing the baton of World Cup's hosting nations to Russia, watched the World Cup final match between Germany and Argentina, held meetings in the country's capital and arrived in Fortaleza, where the BRICS summit kicked off July 15.