MEXICO CITY — A delegation of top-ranking Bolivian officials will visit Moscow on April 26 for talks on energy, military and industrial cooperation, Bolivian President Evo Morales has said.

“The delegation will include heads of leading ministries, who are to discuss and sign intergovernmental agreements with their Russian colleagues,” Morales said after returning to La Paz from the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, where he met with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

“We take as a premise that Russia should return to Latin America, and that is why [we] are positively seeking to expand diplomatic, economic, and trade relations with Moscow,” the Bolivian leader said.

After the meeting with Putin, which was initiated by the Bolivian side, Morales told journalists thatMoscow had agreed to lend Bolivia $100 million to buy Russian helicopters to help tackle drug trafficking.

He also said considerable progress had been made in enhancing bilateral cooperation in the energy sphere.

The Russian prime minister arrived in Venezuela on Friday for talks on a range of issues including military-technical cooperation and joint business projects primarily in the energy sphere.

After talks with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Putin said Russia was ready to grant Venezuela a $2.2-bln loan, which Chavez had requested during his visit to Moscow last year.

The prime minister also said Russia would continue deliveries of military equipment to Venezuela to help the Latin American country boost its national defense.