His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has consented to send a message of congratulations to Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation on his appointment as the President of Russia.

In the message, His Majesty was very pleased with the friendly ties between the two countries and peoples and looked forward to working closely with the president both in enhacing bilateral ties and also regional cooperation between the two countries especially through the East Asia summit and the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum. In ending the message, His Majesty wished Putin much success in his new term as president and wished him all the best in his preparations for the APEC Summit in September. - Borneo Bulletin (8 May 2012)