Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro discussed global food security and confirmed their intention to strengthen their strategic partnership, the Kremlin said on Monday.
Putin assured Bolsonaro in a phone call that Russia would fulfill all its obligations to supply fertilisers to Brazil, the Kremlin said in a statement.
Their call came amid growing fears about food shortages caused by problems with the export of grain and fertilizer from Ukraine and Russia.
During their talk, Putin reiterated his demand that Western sanctions be lifted to enable Russia to export fertilizer and food.
The leaders' call was scheduled to coincide with the G7 summit in Bavaria, after Russia was expelled from the then Group of Eight after annexing Crimea.
The leaders of the G7 group of wealthy nations met in Germany, for the second day of a three-day summit on Monday, with the Ukraine conflict, now in its fifth month, high on the agenda.
The conflict is preventing grain from leaving the country's ports and making food more expensive across the globe, with experts and aid groups warning of the potential for famine in parts of Africa and elsewhere.
The G7 leaders have already used the summit as a forum for the announcement of a ban on imports of Russian gold, in further efforts to halt the fighting and cut off financing for Moscow's war.
Germany is currently heading the G7 and hosting the summit. Chancellor Olaf Scholz was urged in the run-up to counter Russia's narrative that Western sanctions are to blame for the food crisis on other continents and to push partner countries for statements of solidarity with the G7's course against Russia.
Russia, however, has repeatedly claimed that Western sanctions are having little effect and that it has other markets for its goods.
During Monday's call, Putin reaffirmed that he wanted to "consistently strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries," in terms of energy and agriculture, according to the Russian government.
Brazil is due to take over the presidency of the UN Security Council on July 1.
