Speaking at the celebrations, Mr Putin noted that his intense joint work with Mr Schroeder was very important for promoting Russian-German relations.
The development of the situation in the world in recent years has been anything but simple, and in this context the German Chancellor has behaved as an honest and strong leader capable of taking sometimes unpopular but necessary decisions, the Russian head of state said.
President Putin said he was sure that Chancellor Schroeder claimed much of the credit for the fact that Germany’s voice in the modern world carried weight.
The President stressed that he regarded it as an honour to be among those invited to attend Gerhard Schroeder’s birthday celebrations.