🇷🇺🇧🇷 On May 9, President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is taking part in celebrations marking the 80th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, held talks in Moscow.

💬 President Putin: Friends,

I am genuinely happy to meet with you, Mr. President. It has indeed been a long time since we last met. You intended to visit Moscow earlier, but work commitments prevented you, and I am delighted to welcome you to Russia. Welcome!

I have warm memories of our previous conversations both in Russia and in Brazil. They were held in a very friendly atmosphere and in a business-like manner. We managed to significantly improve relations between our nations largely thanks to our personal contacts.

As I have already mentioned, it has been long since you last came to Russia. Back then, in 2010, your visit was also in May, and a Joint Statement was adopted on the 65th Anniversary of the end of World War II.

☝️ Victory Day will always carry a special significance for our peoples who were fighting against Nazism. We are well aware that Brazil was among those who joined the anti-Hitler coalition. Your military units took part in combat activities in Italy and defended communication routes in the southern Atlantic thus contributing to our joint victory over the enemy. I know that Brazil, as much as Russia, honours the memory of those events and pays tribute to the feat of the victors.

I would like to point out that our relations continue to develop steadily, and high-level contact is being maintained. You always see the way to personally receive Russian representatives whenever they arrive in Brazil on working visits.

📈 Our bilateral trade is moving ahead. I want to stress that Brazil accounts for the largest share of our trade with Latin America and the Caribbean.

Russia is still the biggest exporter of petroleum products and mineral fertilisers to Brazil while your country maintains leading positions in the Russian food imports.

🤝 We are closely cooperating on the international stage, and we will revisit this topic later. This cooperation includes such venues as the UN, #BRICS and #G20.

I am happy to have this opportunity to discuss these and other matters of mutual interest with you, Mr. President.

#RussiaBrazil

✈️ The participation of the Russian Knights and Strizhi aerobatic teams in Victory Day parades has become a longstanding tradition.

Year after year, the pilots flawlessly execute mind-boggling maneuvers , while flying in precise formation over Red Square, making proud our flying aces of the past, best Soviet pilots in #WWII.

🇷🇺 Their flyovers, highlighted by the smoke trails in the colours of the Russian flag, are a signature part of the parade.

#Victory80

🇷🇺 Article by the Ambassador of Russia to Canada, Oleg Stepanov, for the newspaper Vedomosti

“Remembering Heroism and Learning from History: The Enduring Lessons of Victory in the Great Patriotic War”
(May 9, 2025)

📍The Victory in the Great Patriotic War is not merely one of many military triumphs in Russia’s storied history. It is a symbol of the unbreakable will of the peoples of the Soviet Union—a feat of millions who, through sacrifice and valor, defended humanity from the horror of Nazism.

📍The Great Victory is not only a matter of historical legacy, but also a moral compass. It teaches us to distinguish between good and evil, to call things by their proper names, and to reject political opportunism.

📍Eighty years on, the question of historical truth remains as relevant as ever. Attempts to revise the outcome of the Second World War, rehabilitate collaborators, or distort the role of the Russian people and the peoples of the Soviet Union in defeating Nazism must be firmly opposed. Only an honest, impartial appraisal of the past can serve as a foundation for genuine international understanding and peace.

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#Victory80