President Vladimir Putin sent congratulatory messages to Indian President Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on the occasion of the Indian national holiday — Independence Day 2003-08-15 00:00:00 The message to the Indian President said, in part: “We are satisfied with the steady progress of Russian-Indian relations and the broadening partnership between our counties in various spheres. I am confident that the strategic partnership linking Russia and India will continue to strengthen, benefiting our peoples, international peace and security.” In his message to the Indian Prime Minister, Mr Putin stressed that “the strategic partnership of Russia and India reflects a high level of maturity in the dynamically developing bilateral relations and is an important stabilising factor in present-day international relations.”