Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Monday after the leftist ex-president narrowly won a divisive runoff against far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro.“The results of the vote have confirmed your high political authority,” Putin said in a telegram published by the Kremlin after Brazilian electoral officials called the election for Lula with 50.9% of the vote versus 49.1% for Bolsonaro.“I expect that through our joint efforts we will ensure the further development of constructive Russian-Brazilian cooperation on all fronts.” Brazil is a member of the BRICS cross-continental group of emerging economies that also comprises Russia, India, China and South Africa.Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine made Russia the world’s most-sanctioned country, has pushed for stronger ties with BRICS nations as economic penalties from the West forced Moscow to seek new markets.