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President of the House of Representatives of Cyprus Marios Garoyian (retranslated): Our dear friend, Mr President, I would like to welcome you to the parliament of Cyprus. This is an historic visit for Cyprus and for the house of representatives. I would also like to express the gratitude of the people of Cyprus for Russia’s support, including within international organisations and at international forums.

Your visit crowns our many political, cultural, religious, and spiritual ties. These are ties that have withstood the test of time, ties that are based on the principles and values that our peoples have shared for many, many years.

Your visit opens up an opportunity for our relations to develop and broaden even further.

It is with great love, appreciation, and respect that I welcome you here, to the House of Representatives.

President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Mr President of the House of Representatives, Mr Garoyian, I am very happy for the opportunity to meet you and visit the parliament.

Indeed, today we have reached a pinnacle in our relations in recent years. On the one hand, the relations between our nations go very far back, and on the other hand, the current contacts have now spanned fifty years, which also represents a certain kind of anniversary. These relations have always been very positive; they have always been spiritually close; and they have always been based on mutual respect and friendship. That is precisely why we hold similar positions on a wide range of issues, and naturally, will continue helping to resolve the Cyprus dispute.

As for the substance of our relations, these are not just relations between the executive branches, but also between our legislators. I know that you have contacts and ties with your colleagues in Russia.

Today, President Christofias and I also created some extra work for you by signing a whole range of documents that you will be dealing with, one way or another.