BRASILIA - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged US President Donald Trump to lift punitive trade tariffs in their first official talks on Monday after months of animosity -- with both suggesting an in-person meeting in the near future.
The two leaders spoke for 30 minutes in a "friendly tone" and Lula raised the possibility of a meeting in Malaysia next month, the Brazilian presidency said in a statement.
Lula "requested the removal" of tariffs imposed on his country's products and sanctions against Brazilian officials.
Trump hailed "a very good telephone call" in a post on Truth Social.
"We will be having further discussions, and will get together in the not too distant future, both in Brazil and the United States," he said, without adding details.
Ties have soured between Washington and Brasilia in recent months, with Trump angered over the trial and conviction of his ally, the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Trump has imposed a 50-percent tariff on Brazilian products and imposed sanctions against several top officials, including a top Supreme Court judge, to punish Brazil for what he termed a "witch hunt" against Bolsonaro.
"We are very optimistic that we will move toward a win-win situation in this relationship," said Brazil's Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, who has been tasked with continuing negotiations with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
He noted the call had gone "even better than we expected" and that the two presidents had exchanged personal phone numbers.