MOSCOW, March 25. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the occasion of Greece’s national holiday, Independence Day, the Kremlin press office reported on Thursday.

"In his congratulatory telegrams, Vladimir Putin stressed that Russia attaches great importance to relations with Greece based on long-standing traditions of friendship, cultural and spiritual affinity," the statement says.

The Russian president also said he was confident that the Russia-Greece Year of History whose opening is timed for the 200th anniversary of the start of the Greek people’s national liberation struggle would contribute to strengthening mutually advantageous ties between the two countries, the press office said.

Greece will hold a military parade on March 25 to celebrate 200 years since the start of the country’s national liberation revolution against the Ottoman Empire’s rule that lasted four centuries. Russia, France and Great Britain helped Greece in its almost decade-long struggle. A key role in the Greeks’ struggle for independence was played by Russia’s victory over Turkey in the 1828-1829 war when most of the Turkish army left Greece and was routed by the Russian troops in Eastern Anatolia and Bulgaria. Greece gained its autonomy in 1829 and full independence in 1830.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will attend the military parade in Athens on March 25.