Russia hopes to introduce a visa-free regime with the Community of Latin American and Carribean states (CELAC) shortly, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.

"We set a task to establish the visa-free Russia-CELAC space, and I hope it could be implemented in the soonest future," Lavrov told reporters after talks with his Cuban, Chilean, Costa-Rican and Haitian counterparts in Moscow.

Noting Russia has already had visa-free regime with many Latin American and Carribean countries, Lavrov said the arrangement would contribute to the entire spectrum of "substantive and ample relationships" between the sides.

The CELAC, established in December 2011 in Venezuela's Caracas, comprises 33 countries of the Western hemisphere with exception of the United States and Canada.

Lavrov also said that the CELAC has been interested in setting up permanent contacts with BRICS, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.