OREANDA-NEWS. March 3, 2009. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sent a message to Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, congratulating him on Bulgaria’s Liberation Day – the country’s national holiday commemorating its liberation from Ottoman rule

The message read, in part:

"It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge the constructive nature of Russian-Bulgarian cooperation based on the traditional friendship and spiritual closeness of our nations. It is my firm belief that relations between us will continue to develop dynamically in political, trade, economic, investment, energy and other areas, creating favorable conditions for the implementation of key joint projects."