LONDON (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had good relations with both Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro, the two candidates in Sunday’s runoff in the Brazilian presidential election.
When asked on Thursday what Russia’s position was on the Brazilian election and the probability that Lula would return to power, Putin said: “We have good relations with Mr Lula and we have good relations with Mr Bolsonaro.”
“We do not interfere in domestic political processes – this is the most important thing,” Putin added. “We consider Brazil to be our most important partner in Latin America, and it is, and we will do everything to ensure that these relations develop in the future.”
Lula, who previously served as president from 2003 until 2011, won the first-round of the election on Oct. 2 in a field of 11 candidates by 48.43% of the valid votes to 43.20% for Bolsonaro.
Ahead of the runoff, opinion polls show that Lula has a lead over Bolsonaro.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
