Comment by the Information and Press Department on the decision of Brazil’s Senate to remove President Dilma Rousseff from office

On August 31, Brazil’s Federal Senate voted to impeach President Dilma Rousseff. Former Vice President Michel Temer was sworn in as the new president until December 31, 2018.

We reaffirm our invariable and consistent position that we have already voiced. What is happening in Brazil is an internal affair of that country. It is imperative that all processes proceed strictly within the constitutional framework and conform to the standards of national legislation. We believe it is important to make sure that the course of events does not aggravate the split in society and a tough political standoff.

We are interested in a stable, democratic and rapidly developing Brazil that plays a major role on the international stage. Brazil is our important foreign policy, trade and economic partner. We are actively cooperating with it in the UN, BRICS and the G20, including on the preparations for the forthcoming summits of the two latter groups in Hangzhou, China. We maintain meaningful contacts in the technological, humanitarian and cultural areas.

We highly value the tangible contribution made by Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff to developing bilateral cooperation. As vice president, Michel Temer actively worked as co-chairman of the Russian-Brazilian High-Level Commission on Cooperation. We believe that the course towards steadily developing ties with Russia enjoys the support of a broad range of political forces in Brazil.

For our part, we will work to consistently promote Russian-Brazilian partnership and cooperation.