MOSCOW, March 23. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a message of congratulations to Aslan Bzhania, who has been elected president of Abkhazia.
"A convincing victory in the elections held in the conditions of the people’s freely expressed will has demonstrated the high level of respect that your compatriots have towards you. I expect that your efforts as the head of state will facilitate Abkhazia’s social-economic development and protect the interests of your state on the international scene," the Kremlin press service quotes Putin as saying. Putin has reaffirmed his intention to cooperate with Bzhania in order to develop Russian-Abkhazian allied relations further.