The diplomatic relations between the countries date back to 1926. In 1935 Uruguay stopped all contacts only to resume them in1943. The backbone political document in bilateral relations, i.e. the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, was signed by Russia and Uruguay in 1997.

The cornerstone document in bilateral relations of Russia and Uruguay is the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation of 1997. Other agreements comprising the legal and contractual basis were signed between governments, namely: on cultural and scientific cooperation of 1997, on visa-free access for holders of diplomatic, service and official passports of 1999, on combating drug trafficking of 2002, and on military and technical cooperation of 2002. In the past several years, the bilateral relations between the countries have been on the rise. This is evident in intensified reciprocal visits of delegations, meetings of heads of ministries and agencies, and visits of Uruguay’s Interior and Defense Ministers to Russia. Contacts were established at the level of Parliaments. This included reciprocal visits of the chairpersons of the parliamentary chambers. Uruguay received official delegations of the Russian Security Council and Federal Customs Service in Montevideo. On February 15, 2017, President Tabaré Vázquez of Uruguay arrived in Moscow with an official visit. 

In 2014, the Russian-Uruguayan Intergovernmental Committee on Trade & Economic and Scientific & Technical Cooperation resumed its work.

Today’s military and technical cooperation between Russia and Uruguay is regulated by the Government-to-Government Agreement of 2002. Russia supplied Uruguay with Ural trucks and Vodnik armored vehicles.