Russian President V.Putin to visit Cuba, Argentina, Brazil during Latin America tour (Photo: ITAR-TASS/Alexei Druzhinin)

(VOVworld) – Russia is prepared to expand cooperation with Latin American states. President Vladimir Putin said on Friday, ahead of his visits to Cuba, Argentina, and Brazil.

Putin paid special attention to establishing future contacts between the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. He said the Custom Union members will deepen the integration process, greatly improve the business environment for the Europe - Asia space, and broaden opportunities for developing mutually advantageous business contacts with foreign partners.

Putin also expressed his optimism about future relations between Russia and Cuba. He said Cuba was one of Russia’s leading partners in the region while bilateral cooperation between Russia and Brazil was strategic. Putin underlined Russia’s support for Brazil to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Putin said Russia will not exclude the possibility of setting up a strategic partnership between Argentina and the BRICS - an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.