Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sends New Year greetings to heads of foreign states and governments
In his New Year's message to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the prime minister reaffirmed his desire to work together in the interests of the people of both nations and of peace and security in the Caucasus and Caspian region.
In his message to Azerbaijani Prime Minister Artur Rasizade, Vladimir Putin expressed confidence that the Russian-Azerbaijani strategic partnership will continue to grow stronger.
After wishing Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan a Happy New Year and Christmas, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called for joint efforts to raise Russian-Armenian relations to a new level.
In his holiday message to Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, the prime minister expressed satisfaction with the pace of the development of Russian-Armenian partnership and with the progress made on joint large-scale projects.
In his message to Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich, Vladimir Putin emphasised that the establishment of the Customs Union and of the legal framework for the Common Economic Space will deepen Russian-Belarusian cooperation.
After conveying warm wishes to Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the prime minister expressed confidence that the coming year would be a successful one for the Russian-Kazakh strategic partnership, bringing new and interesting ideas and initiatives.
In his message to his Kazakh counterpart, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin noted that Russian-Kazakh relations developed rapidly in 2010 and expressed his desire to continue working together.
Congratulating interim President of Kyrgyzstan Roza Otunbayeva, Vladimir Putin underscored that Kyrgyzstan's new leadership managed to stabilise the situation in the country. In addition, the prime minister voiced his confidence that their countries can work together to launch new large-scale economic projects in Kyrgyzstan for the good of the Russian and Kyrgyz peoples.
The prime minister's message to Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon highlighted the rapid development of Russian-Tajik bilateral cooperation, the successful implementation of joint projects, including the construction of the 1st Sangtudinskaya hydroelectric power station, as well as the expansion of satellite campuses of Russian universities in Tajikistan.
In his holiday greeting to Tajikistan Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov, Vladimir Putin expressed confidence that expanding cooperation between Russia and Tajikistan is in the best interests of the two nations and promotes stability and security in Central Asia.
Vladimir Putin's message to Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov focused on the successful development of Russia-Uzbekistan cooperation – in the outgoing year the two countries significantly strengthened their bilateral trade and economic relations and ties in research and technology.
After wishing his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev a Happy New Year, Vladimir Putin emphasised that Russia and Uzbekistan enjoy strong bonds of friendship and partnership and expressed his desire to continue working together to improve all areas of cooperation.
The prime minister conveyed holiday wishes to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych for the New Year and Christmas, and noted that in 2010 the two countries managed to bring their relations to an entirely new level and to restore mutual trust and a spirit of partnership.
In his holiday greeting to Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, the Russian prime minister highlighted that in 2010 their countries strengthened the trust in their bilateral dialogue, reached large-scale agreements and launched new major projects. Vladimir Putin also expressed confidence that the governments of Russia and Ukraine will continue to cooperate closely next year.
In his message to President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, the prime minister made reference to the strong traditions of friendship and partnership at the foundation of the productive cooperation between Russia and Turkmenistan.
In his New Year message to President of Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh, Vladimir Putin said that significant progress had been made on the comprehensive plan to foster the development of Abkhazia this year and added that continued efforts to strengthen Russian-Abkhazian cooperation will promote stability and security in the Trans-Caucasus region.
After wishing President of South Ossetia Eduard Kokoity a Happy New Year, the prime minister remarked on the active cooperation between the two countries' governments and parliaments and praised their joint work to create a legal framework and to expand bilateral trade and economic relations.
In his holiday greeting to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Vladimir Putin expressed confidence that the cooperation between Russia and Italy will continue to expand rapidly to the benefit of European and global affairs.
In his message to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, the Russian prime minister expressed his appreciation for the fact that Russian-Japanese relations continued to develop consistently in 2010.
In his message wishing US President Barack Obama a Happy Christmas and New Year, Vladimir Putin highlighted the countries' shared successes in settling regional and global conflicts, overcoming the consequences of the global financial and economic crisis and ratifying the New Start Treaty. The Russian prime minister expressed appreciation to his American partners regarding the successful conclusion of negotiations on Russia's accession to the WTO as well as his hope that the year 2011 will be equally successful for Russian-American relations.
In his holiday message to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Vladimir Putin expressed confidence that 2011 will be a year of fresh ideas and initiatives in Russian-German relations and reaffirmed his desire to work together.
In his message to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the prime minister expressed confidence that Russia and France will continue to work together constructively in 2011 for the good of both countries. In addition, Vladimir Putin highlighted the success of the Year of Russia in France and the Year of France in Russia.
After conveying holiday greetings to his French counterpart Francois Fillon, the Russian prime minister said that Russia and France are bound by friendship and fruitful cooperation in all areas, including politics, the economy, science, education, culture and sport.
In his message to the President of China Hu Jintao, Vladimir Putin noted that Russian-Chinese cooperation reached an unprecedented level in the outgoing year and expressed his desire to continue to work actively to expand the comprehensive cooperation between Russia and China in the interests of the two countries' peoples and of stability and security in the world and in the Asia-Pacific region.
Congratulating Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, the Russian prime minister remarked on the traditional spirit of friendship and trust at the recent meeting of the governments of Russia and China in St Petersburg. Vladimir Putin also noted that the implementation of bilateral agreements will help advance the Russian-Chinese strategic partnership.
In his holiday message to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister Putin said that the traditionally friendly relations between Russia and India reached a new level in 2010 – a level of privileged strategic partnership. The Russian prime minister reaffirmed his desire to work constructively with Indian partners to bolster all aspects of the countries' bilateral relations.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sent New Year and Christmas greetings to a number of other foreign heads of state and government.
