MOSCOW. Sept 18 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have spoken over the phone to discuss efforts to further enhance bilateral strategic partnerships and resolve the Ukraine conflict, the Kremlin press service said on Wednesday.
"The parties discussed current matters of further advancement of Russian-Brazilian strategic partnership. They reaffirmed mutual interest in stepping up political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation in various areas, including trade, agriculture, energy and industrial cooperation," it said.
"Given Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's confirmed interest in contributing to seeking ways to resolve the Ukraine conflict, Vladimir Putin set out Russia's fundamental assessments in this regard," it said.
"Due to wildfires that have engulfed a number of regions in Brazil, Putin said he is willing to assist, if required, in addressing the aftermath of the natural disaster," it said.
Putin thanked Brazilian partners for supporting the priorities of the Russian BRICS presidency and briefed them on the preparations for the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 22-24, it said.
"Both parties said they are willing to continue joint work on pivotal areas of cooperation in BRICS, in particular, in the financial sector. The readiness to enhance coordination both in the G20, which Brazil is chairing this year, and in other multilateral platforms was also underscored," it said.
Putin and Lula also discussed the schedule of further bilateral contacts and agreed to meet during the BRICS summit in Kazan, it said.