KAZAN. Oct 23 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding a meeting with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Kazan on Wednesday.
The presidents of Russia and Venezuela last met in September 2019 in Moscow. Preparations for a new visit by Maduro to Russia were later announced more than once, but Maduro's visit to Russia was postponed several times due to differences in the two presidents' schedules.
The news about the possibility of a meeting between Putin and Maduro on the sidelines of the BRICS summit has only come recently.
The Venezuelan president arrived in the capital of Tatarstan on Tuesday late in the evening in the company of his wife. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez had already arrived in Kazan.
Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters Putin and Maduro have accumulated a lot of issues to discuss, both in bilateral relations and international issues. "Bilateral issues and cooperation in BRICS. There are a million issues there," Ushakov said, speaking about the agenda of the upcoming talks.
Russia is represented in the talks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, presidential aide Yury Ushakov, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov, Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev, Rosatom head Alexei Likhachev, Rospotrebnadzor head Anna Popova, and Rosneft head Igor Sechin.