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President Vladimir Putin: Esteemed gentlemen!

I would like to open this ceremony today by congratulating you all on the official beginning of your diplomatic mission in Russia.

The prospects for our bilateral cooperation and the opportunities to enrich our relations with new projects and initiatives now depend to a large extent on you and I wish you all success in this very interesting and responsible work.

Our meeting is taking place on the eve of a very significant date, that of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. For us, this day symbolises the triumph of the national spirit in the struggle for our country’s freedom and independence and the right for all the world’s peoples to freely choose their own development path.

The lessons of the war should serve to unite all countries in the fight against modern threats – unite us all against the most terrible and dangerous threat today, the threat of terrorism.

Russia follows a consistent policy of striving to unite the international community’s efforts in this fight. We are convinced that only by acting together can we create effective multilateral mechanisms for ensuring global stability and security. Only by working together can we create the mechanisms that would become a key factor for progressive development and constructive cooperation between nations in the twenty-first century.

Esteemed gentlemen!

Today, Russia’s pragmatic and multi-vector foreign policy opens up new opportunities for bilateral and multilateral interaction. And I hope that the countries you represent will appreciate the full value of these possibilities.

Building up friendly ties with the Republic of Korea is one of the priorities for Russian diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific region. It is very important for us today to take our relations to the level of a multilateral and multifaceted partnership. We see this as one of the essential conditions for successful social and economic development throughout the entire region and for resolving international security issues.

We highly value our traditionally friendly relations with the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and we think that today we should work to make more effective use of the experience of cooperation we have built up and look for new, promising forms of interaction.

We place great importance on further developing our friendly relations and our partnership with the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

The hearts of Russia’s people were filled with sorrow after the tragedy that struck the Sri Lankan people last December. The destructive tsunami caused huge economic losses for your country and, most terrible, cost the lives of thousands of people. I want to stress that providing assistance to help overcome the aftermath of the disaster is a matter of honour for us.

It gives me pleasure to welcome the new ambassador of the Republic of Malta. Our countries have solid traditions of mutual respect and trust and a long and successful experience of working together. We should and must continue to develop and look after this common capital we have built up.

We highly value our friendly relations and our cooperation with Namibia. The foundation of our relations was laid during the years of the Namibian people’s struggle for independence. I am sure that together we can give new substance to our political and business ties.

A friendship between two peoples and an ongoing and candid political dialogue form the foundation of the relations between Russia and Slovenia.

Today there is a clear aspiration to broaden our economic and humanitarian ties and it is our duty to make maximum use of the opportunities for cooperation that we have.

We are committed to developing a constructive dialogue with Latvia, one of our closest neighbours. We are still far from fully developing the potential of our political, business and cultural cooperation. We are ready to work together to lay a solid foundation for developing relations of trust and cooperation – cooperation based on the principles of democracy and respect for basic human rights and liberties.

In conclusion, I would like to once again wish you fruitful and successful work in Moscow. I am sure that all your promising initiatives will meet with the support and understanding of your Russian colleagues.

Thank you for your attention, and I hope that your stay in Moscow will be useful and pleasant for you and your families. Thank you.