The statement “expressed a mutual commitment to promoting bilateral cooperation to the level of a long-term strategic partnership”.
The document said Russia and Brazil would soon sign a memorandum on military technology cooperation. It also highlighted the importance of “efforts to secure a legally binding, controllable and irreversible reduction of strategic offensive armaments”.
Mr Putin and Mr Cardoso said they were in favour of continuing disarmament, above all nuclear disarmament, while preserving and strictly observing all earlier concluded treaties and agreements. They believe that today, when the world was confronted with new threats, “it is particularly important to prevent the formation of a legal vacuum in strategic stability and erosion of non-proliferation regimes for weapons of mass destruction,” the statement stressed.
Concerning the situation in Afghanistan, Mr Putin and Mr Carodoso pointed to the importance of establishing a widely-represented “multi-ethnic system of government” in the country and of rendering international humanitarian assistance to its population.
Mr Putin and Mr Cardoso confirmed the two countries’ dedication to strengthening cooperative efforts across the world, and above all in the UN, based on the observance of principles and provisions of the organisation’s Charter. They expressed Russia’s and Brazil’s readiness for constructive cooperation with a view to strengthening the central role of the UN and its Security Council.
Russia said it regarded Brazil as one of the worthy candidates for permanent UN Security Council membership, in the context of a possible agreement to expand that body. This is also said in the Joint Statement.