President of Turkmenistan attended the ceremony of laying flowers to the Monument of Independence. Early in the morning, thousands of Turkmen citizens and guests to Ashgabat gathered together at the magnificent complex. Ceremony participants cordially greeted President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. The Turkmen leader walked on the alley, along which the Guard of Honour of the Armed Forces of Turkmenistan stood. The golden spire of the Monument of Independence proudly soars into the sky. The National Anthem of Turkmenistan sounded. In a solemn atmosphere, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov laid a wreath of flowers to the magnificent memorial complex. Following the Turkmen leader, ceremony participants laid flowers to the monument. Among them were the Chairperson of the Mejlis, cabinet ministers, heads of military and law-enforcement agencies, ministries and departments, representatives of the public organisations, political parties, heads of diplomatic missions and international organisations accredited in Turkmenistan, foreign businessmen, journalists, the elders, students as well as numerous citizens of the Turkmen capital. Our foreign guests, who had arrived in Ashgabat to participate in the festivities on occasion of the Day of Independence of Turkmenistan, expressed their deep respect to the national shrines of the Turkmen people. In a few minutes, the square in front of the Monument of Independence was covered with a bright flower carpet.