Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) President Arayik Harutyunyan on Friday congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his 70th birthday. The respective congratulatory message reads as follows, in particular:

“We highly appreciate the contribution of the Russian Federation and your personal input to the Karabakh conflict settlement, establishment and maintenance of peace and stability in our region, protection of rights of the Artsakh people and ensuring their security, for which we are deeply grateful to you.

I would like to voice a hope that you will stand by our people further on and will continue to exert your weighty efforts towards final and fair settlement of the conflict.”