At the beginning of the meeting the President greeted the board of directors of the European Judo Union and also various judo associations from Africa and Asia.
Vladimir Putin is the honorary President of the European Judo Union. The decision to make Vladimir Putin the honorary President was taken in 2005 at the congress of the European Judo Union.
In December 2005 the certificate of honorary President was awarded to Vladimir Putin during the final of the European Judo Championships that were held in Moscow.