Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s opening remarks during Russian-Brazilian talks in the 2 + 2 format, Moscow, February 16, 2022

Esteemed Ministers,

We are delighted to welcome you to Moscow. For the first time, Russian-Brazilian relations are enriched with the new 2 + 2 format involving foreign and defence ministers.

On behalf of our delegation, I would like to offer condolences in connection with the tragic events, caused by a flood and landslides in Petropolis in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state. I would like to ask you to convey our condolences to the families of the deceased.

Our meeting is held during President Jair Bolsonaro’s visit to the Russian Federation and in conjunction with his talks with President Vladimir Putin that are to begin within hours. I am confident that our talks will help review, in greater detail, specific aspects of our foreign policy interaction and cooperation to strengthen security.

We are interested in an independent role for Latin America and the Caribbean on the international scene. We can see that Brazil is playing a leading and central role in facilitating the development of this highly important region.

We value our interaction within multilateral formats, including regional associations in your region, as well as within the UN, BRICS and the G20.