Moscow, Sept. 17 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday extended birthday greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, praising his personal efforts in strengthening bilateral ties.

In a congratulatory Telegram message published on the Kremlin's website, Putin lauded PM Modi's role in deepening the relationship between the two countries.

"You are making a great personal contribution to strengthening the particularly privileged strategic partnership between our countries and to developing mutually beneficial Russian-Indian cooperation in various areas," Putin said in his message, according to Izvestia Multimedia Information Centre (Izvestia MIC).

Putin's greetings came as world leaders marked the occasion, with former Prime Mini...