
TELEGRAM
ESTEEMED MR VAJPAYEE,
I HEARTILY CONGRATULATE YOU ON THE 90TH BIRTH JUBILEE.
A WHOLE EPOCH IN INDIA’S MODERN HISTORY IS ASSOCIATED WITH YOUR NAME. AT HOME AND ABROAD, YOU DESERVEDLY ENJOY ESTEEM NOT ONLY AS AN EMINENT STATESMAN AND POLITICAL FIGURE WHO HEADED GOVERNMENT OF INDIA FOR MANY YEARS BUT ALSO AS A TALENTED POET, A MAN OF ENORMOUS KNOWLEDGE AND HIGHEST CULTURAL STANDARDS.
YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF RUSSIAN-INDIAN COOPERATION CAN HARDLY BE OVERESTIMATED. THE DECLARATION OF STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN OUR COUNTRIES SIGNED DURING YOUR TERM AS PRIME MINISTER HAS ELEVATED BILATERAL RELATIONS TO A QUALITATIVELY NEW LEVEL AND HAS PREDETERMINED THEIR FURTHER FRUITFUL DEVELOPMENT.
AVAILING MYSELF OF THIS OPPORTUNITY I AM SENDING TO YOU MY NEW YEAR GREETINGS. FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART I WISH YOU GOOD HEALTH, LONG LIFE, HAPPINESS, WELL-BEING AND ALL THE BEST.
RESPECTFULLY YOURS,
V.PUTIN
PRESIDENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION