BEIJING, April 9. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov passed along a warm hello from Russian President Vladimir Putin to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, noting that the Russian head of state highly appreciated Xi’s congratulation following the election.

"I am glad and honored to convey to you the warmest greetings from Russian President Vladimir Putin. He highly valued your congratulatory address, which you issued following the presidential election held this March," Lavrov said, talking to Xi.

Besides, the minister emphasized at the meeting that Russia and China were ready to carry out "new strategic tasks," as set out by the countries’ leaders.

According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), with 100% of all ballots counted, Putin won the presidency with 87.28% of the vote. Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) nominee Nikolay Kharitonov came in second (4.31%), followed by New People party nominee Vladislav Davankov (3.85%) and Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) nominee Leonid Slutsky (3.2%).