LatinNews Daily - 26 April 2024

*Bolivia’s Foreign Minister Celinda Sosa has travelled to Moscow for two days of talks aimed at bolstering bilateral ties with Russia. Sosa is due to meet Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during the visit, with the Bolivian foreign ministry saying that they will discuss “political dialogue, the development of bilateral ties, strengthening the legal and bilateral base [of relations], and opportunities to increase cooperation in various areas”. A report by Russian state media outlet TASS cited a statement from the country’s foreign ministry which praised Bolivia’s criticism of the “illegitimate pressure of sanctions aimed at punishing undesirable governments”. The Russian foreign ministry also expressed support for Bolivia’s goal of joining the Brics group of countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), of which President Luis Arce notified the bloc in July 2023, saying: “in its capacity of the group’s rotating chairman in 2024, the Russian side is poised to help La Paz engage more broadly in cooperation with Brics”.