Russia's Putin sends 2023 New Year greetings to foreign heads of state and government

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday extended holiday and 2023 New Year’s greetings to heads of foreign states and governments, including Türkiye, as well as leaders of international organizations.

Putin "warmly congratulated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the upcoming New Year, emphasizing that mutually beneficial relations between Russia and Türkiye are developing very dynamically, despite the difficult international situation," the Kremlin said.

"Vladimir Putin stated that in the past year, bilateral cooperation in many areas has been significantly expanded, major joint projects designed to ensure long-term regional energy security are being successfully implemented,” it added, citing the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in southern Türkiye as well as the creation of a Turkish regional gas hub.

Putin said that acting together, Moscow and Ankara will be able to ensure further expansion of the entire complex of Russian-Turkish cooperation for the benefit of their peoples, in the interests of strengthening stability and security on the Eurasian continent.

According to the Kremlin, Putin also sent holiday greetings to the leaders of Georgia's Abkhazia region as well as Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, South Ossetia, Bolivia, Brazil, Hungary, Venezuela, Vietnam, India, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, Serbia, and Syria.