Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro on his first official trip to Moscow on Wednesday, as Western leaders remain fearful of the escalated tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Before departing, Bolsonaro said that the meeting was all about trade and he wants to increase imports of Russian fertilizers.

As a "sovereign country, we are going to fight for peace in the region, we want peace but we must understand that human beings are like that ...," Bolsonaro said.

Prior to Bolsonaro's visit to Russia, the U.S. had put pressure on Brazil in a bid to have the meeting canceled, Brazilian newspaper Folha de Sao Paolo reported on January 31, citing Brazilian Foreign Ministry sources.

The presidents met while the countries' foreign and defense ministers held talks in the 2+2 format.

During the briefing after the talk with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Brazilian Foreign Minister Carlos Franca told reporters that he and Lavrov discussed the implementation of the "strategic Brazil-Russia partnership in the field of research and development of common projects in the defense area."

Brazil would boost ties in research and defense with Russia, he said.

(With input from agencies)