Dear Mikhail, Dear Friend,
As your many friends help you celebrate your seventieth Birthday, Barbara and I want to send you our warmest Happy Birthday greetings and our hopes that you have many happy returns of this significant birthday milestone.

History will be very generous and kind to you, honoring you for all you did to make our world a more peaceful world for your grandkids and ours. With Glasnost and Perestroika your farsighted vision paved the way for arms reductions, for ending the Cold War, and for bringing to your country a democracy and a market economy that will serve Russia well for years to come. Without your leadership these significant changes that resulted in far better relations between our two countries might not have happened at all.

Good Luck in all that lies ahead. May your future be as rewarding as your distinguished past. You deserve the best.

Barbara joins me in sending you affectionate greetings from all the Bush family.