In his conversation with the President, ISS commander Pavel Vinogradov invited Putin to come and visit the cosmonauts at the space station. “We are inviting you. You've already visited a cruiser submarine and a strategic bomber. You fly the Su-27 fighter jet. Yet, you never visited an orbital station,”  Vinogradov said.

President Putin smiled and said “I'll think about that for my vacation.”

The uplink was initiated around 1 P.M. Moscow time and lasted for several minutes. Vladimir Putin communicated with the cosmonauts from the President's Situation Center of the Kremlin, where he usually gives live television and radio broadcasts.

The President congratulated everyone aboard the ISS on the 45-th anniversary of man's first flight in space. Putin emphasized that in the four decades that passed since that day, both Russia and its partners have accomplished much. The quality of space cooperation changed, the Russian President noted.

Vladimir Putin also said that, “even though working on the ISS might not appear difficult, everyone realizes that being in space requires great courage, knowledge, bravery, organization skill, and discipline.” He wished the space traveler a successful mission and a safe return home.

In his turn, Commander Vinogradov thanked the President “on behalf of all cosmonauts and astronauts of the world for continued support of the space industry, where tens of thousands of professionals work.”    

The Russian head of state then asked  American astronaut Jeffrey Williams what differences he encountered when he flew up to the International Space Station in a Soyuz craft, not in the American Shuttle. The American astronaut said that the Shuttle is somewhat different from the Soyuz: “The Soyuz is a very good craft and the flight was truly interesting.” As Jeffrey Williams said, the Soyuz and the Shuttle compliment each other.