Putin wished a number of foreign leaders a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated the leaders of a number of countries on Christmas and the coming New Year. This is stated in a congratulatory telegram on the Kremlin website.
Thus, the Russian leader sent warm words to Presidents Ilham Aliyev (Azerbaijan), Vahagn Khachaturian (Armenia), Alexander Lukashenko (Belarus), Kasym-Jomart Tokayev (Kazakhstan), Sadyr Zhaparov (Kyrgyzstan), Emomali Rakhmon (Tajikistan), Serdar Berdimuhamedov (Turkmenistan), Shavkat Merziyoyev (Uzbekistan), Alan Gagloev (South Ossetia), Luis Alberto Arce (Bolivia).
Putin also congratulated Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Brazil), Nicolas Maduro (Venezuela), Luong Cuong (Vietnam), Draupadi Murmu (India), Xi Jinping (China), Kim Jong-un (North Korea), Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez (Cuba), Thongloun Sisoulith (Laos), Uhnagyin Khurelsukh (Mongolia), Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua), Recep Erdogan (Turkey) and Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa).
Of the European leaders, Putin congratulated only Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Later, the Russian leader's spokesman Dmitry Peskov added that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitzo also received a congratulatory telegram from Putin.
In addition, congratulations were sent to Pope Francis, Prime Ministers Abiy Ahmed (Ethiopia), Narendra Modi (India), Nikol Pashinyan (Armenia) and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Tho Lam.
Putin also sent congratulations to a number of former foreign heads of state and government, including Nursultan Nazarbayev, Raul Castro, Robert Kocharyan, Gerhard Schroeder and Serzh Sargsyan.
The Russian leader did not send New Year's greetings to U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders of major unfriendly countries.
A day earlier, Putin congratulated 18-year-old chess player Volodar Murzin on the upcoming holidays, as well as on his victory at the World Rapid Chess Championship in New York. The head of state wished the grandmaster new achievements.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
