Palestinian media: Russian PM to meet Netanyahu, Abbas in November
Report says visit to Israel, West Bank is part of peace push, while Moscow says trip marks 25 years of Israeli-Russian ties
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Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will visit Israel and the West Bank on November 9 in an effort to advance the stalled peace process, the Palestinian Authority’s official television station reported Saturday.
Quoting the Palestinian report, Channel 10 said Medvedev would hold talks with both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
The Russian Embassy in Israel said last week, however, that Medvedev’s visit would focus on the 25th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Moscow and Jerusalem.
“During the visit [the sides] will discuss ways of strengthening existing forms of cooperation in various fields, with emphasis on the economic and humanitarian sphere, as well as promising new directions,” the embassy, according to the website Israel-today.ru.
The embassy statement said that “Russian-Israeli political dialogue has been particularly intense” over the past year.
In February, Chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko visited Israel and in March President Reuven Rivlin went to Moscow. Netanyahu visited Moscow twice – once in April and again in June. The prime minister also held several telephone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Medvedev was scheduled to visit Israel in early 2011, during his stint as Russian president. The visit was cancelled due to a strike by staff at the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
The Times of Israel Community.