Russian leader Vladimir Putin has sent a message to the newly elected Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, congratulating him on winning the presidential race and expressing confidence that bilateral relations will continue to develop, the Kremlin press service said in a statement.

According to the statement, Putin "was confident that ties between Russia and Brazil would grow stronger in all areas and the constructive cooperation between the two countries within the United Nations, the G20 group, BRICS and other on multilateral platforms would continue in the interests of the people of Russia and Brazil."

The Russian head of state "commended the considerable experience of mutually beneficial cooperation in various areas the two countries have gained as strategic partners."

On Sunday, a runoff presidential election was held in Brazil. With 99.91% of the ballots counted, Jair Bolsonaro, who represents the conservative Social Liberal Party, garnered 55.15% of the vote, while his rival Fernando Haddad, nominated by the leftist Workers’ Party, secured 44.85%.

The new Brazilian president will be sworn in on January 1, 2019.