Netanyahu travels to Russia to meet with Putin
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara left Monday on an official visit to Russia to mark the 25th anniversary of the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet on Wednesday in the Kremlin. It is the fourth time that Netanyahu and Putin have met in recent months, including Netanyahu visits to Moscow in September 2015 and April 2016, and a meeting in November during the Paris climate conference.
The leaders will discuss regional issues including the global fight against terrorism; the situation in and around Syria; and the diplomatic horizon between Israel and the Palestinians; as well as bilateral economic and trade cooperation and the strengthening of cultural and humanitarian ties, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
In other diplomatic actions, a bilateral pensions agreement, to restore Russian pensions to immigrants to Israel from the states of the former Soviet Union is scheduled to be signed. The agreement must be ratified by the Russian government. Also a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in agriculture and dairy technology is set to be signed.
Netanyahu and his wife are scheduled to meet with members of the Russian Jewish community including its leaders, such as Chief Rabbi of Russia Berl Lazar, Chief Rabbi of Moscow Pinchas Goldschmidt, and Russian Jewish Congress President Yuri Kanner.
Netanyahu also is scheduled to visit the armored corps museum in Moscow where an Israeli tank from the Battle of Sultan Yacoub during the Lebanon War in 1982 is currently located. The tank is set to be returned to Israel following the signing by Putin of an order to repatriate the tank.
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