The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Macedonia and the Russian Federation, sent a letter to the President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin.

Respected Mr. President,

On behalf of the Republic of Macedonia and on my personal behalf I extend the assurances of highest consideration.

Mr. President, I address you on the eve of a very important date in the history of the relations between our two friendly countries. Namely, January 31 is the day when, exactly 20 years ago, the diplomatic relations between the Republic of Macedonia and the Russian Federation were established.

Since then, we have witnessed continuous efforts in building state relations in all areas of mutual interest and in strengthening the friendship between our people.

In the past twenty years, I may say that the overall relations and cooperation between the two friendly countries has reached a level we can be satisfied of. The core of the solid bilateral relations is the high level of political dialogue at all levels. I would like to assure you that in the spirit of the established friendship, mutual understanding and mutual respect, in accordance with the long historical, spiritual and cultural traditions of our peoples, as well as with the economic interests that are our common imperative, the Republic of Macedonia, as before, attaches highest importance to the development of the relations with the Russian Federation.

I stand ready, together with you, through exchange of visits, meetings and personal example, to give further joint contribution and impetus for cooperation at political level, but also in the field of economy, energy, trade, investment, culture, tourism, education and in all other areas. These are also areas of cooperation in which there is still under-used potential, and areas in which I deem we can be partners, areas that should mark the coming decades in our bilateral relations. The accession of the Republic of Macedonia to the South Stream, the forthcoming gasification of the country, which is precisely the result of the efforts and commitment of the authorities of the two countries, are a good foundation in this regard.

Dr. Gjorge Ivanov