Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife Lyudmila Putina will pay an official visit to Bulgaria
between January 17 and 18 at the invitation of Bulgarian President Georgi Purvanov, Purvanov's Press Secretariat said.

The visit will start with a concert on January 17 dedicated to the opening of the Year of Russia in Bulgaria. An official welcoming ceremony for the Russian President will be held in St Alexander Nevsky Square on January 18 . Purvanov and Putin will have a one-to-one session. The two countries' delegations will hold talks. The two presidents will then give a joint news conference.

Later in the day Putin will confer with Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev and Parliament Chairman Georgi Pirinski.

Purvanov and Putin will visit a Bulgaria-Russia exhibition at the National Museum of Military History dedicated to the 130th anniversary of Bulgaria's liberation from Ottoman rule.