MOSCOW, March 21. /TASS/. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa congratulated his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on election victory and reaffirmed his readiness for joint work in multilateral formats, his press service told TASS.

"His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa has, on behalf of the Government and people of South Africa, congratulated the President of the Russian Federation, His Excellency Vladimir Putin, for his re-election to the position of President of the Russian Federation," the statement says.

"President Ramaphosa further recalled the commitment of South Africa and the Russian Federation to mutual cooperation at the multilateral level, including the two countries’ common membership of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS and other multilateral bodies," the office of the South African leader said.

The statement also says that "President Ramaphosa concluded by indicating South Africa’s strong belief in the maintenance of international peace and security and that South Africa will continue to engage both the Russian Federation and Republic of Ukraine in search of lasting peace between the two neighboring countries."

Russia held its first-ever three-day presidential election on March 15-17. According to data from the Central Election Commission (CEC), incumbent Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ran as an independent, self-nominated candidate, garnered 87.28% of the vote, with 100% of the ballots counted. The voter turnout was the highest in Russia’s modern history, with 77.44% of eligible voters going to the polls.