The President said, in particular, in his message:
“Russia and Spain share much in their historical destinies. Despite the twentieth century’s difficult and sometimes tragic events, our peoples retained their mutual respect and their desire for friendship and cooperation.
The establishment of diplomatic ties between Moscow and Madrid opened the way to developing good and broader bilateral dialogue and created opportunities for mutually advantageous joint projects in trade and the economy, energy, infrastructure, science and technology and other sectors.
Humanitarian cooperation is an important part of our bilateral relations. This was confirmed in full measure by the successful organisation recently of the reciprocal Years of Language and Literature, and Years of Tourism.
I hope that the positive cooperation potential we have built up over these last four decades will serve as a base for further developing our partnership ties in different areas. This is in the fundamental interests of our peoples and will help to strengthen international stability and security.”