Peter Lyukimson, Israel. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
A Russian delegation headed by the speaker of the State Duma, Sergei Naryshkin, is visiting Israel. The group of diplomats also includes Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the chairman of the Duma Committee for International Affairs Alexei Pushkov, the first deputy head of the Duma Committee for Security and Fighting Corruption, Khoj-Magomed Valhayev, the deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Department of the Foreign Ministry, Sergei Kozlov, the member of the Federation Council, Vitaly Ignatenko, MP Egor Anisimov, the deputy director general of ITAR-TASS Mikhail Gusman, and the president of the RSUH Yefim Pivovar.
Yesterday the Russian delegation was welcomed by President of Israel Shimon Peres. “Relations between Israel and Russia stepped outside ordinary relations between countries long ago. A great many people speaking Russian live in Israel. This continues the great cultural closeness, which is higher than any politics. We also appreciate that President Putin participates in events devoted to the memory of Holocaust victims annually. President Putin and I initiated the establishment of a memorial in Netania to deceased soldiers in the Second World War. We have had many sincere and useful talks with President Putin on problems of reaching peace, scientific and economic cooperation. We understand that Russia has deep interests in the Middle East, which are based on an economic, rather than a military platform. And so I welcome cooperation between our countries and would like to see it extending in all directions, first of all in the sphere of science, new technologies and the economy,” Peres said.
Sergey Naryshkin sent “best wishes from Vladimir Putin” to Peres. “I agree with you that the Jewish and the Russian nations are bound by many historic and cultural ties. We are alike. Both of us suffered huge losses in the Second World War. Our positions coincide in many international issues, and this creates a wonderful basis for cooperation in all spheres,” Naryshkin said. Speaking about the Israeli-Palestinian problem, he noted that Russia welcomes restoration of direct contacts between the two sides and is ready to do its best for encouraging the peacemaking process.
Later, Sergei Naryshkin went to the Knesset to meet his Israeli colleague Yuli Edelstein. They discussed Israeli-Palestinian talks and expressed hope that direct talks would “cool down the hotheads” and become a route to peace in the region. Sergei Naryshkin hopes for the wisdom of the Ukrainian people, who realize that peace is very important for their country.
Israeli political scientists believe that the main achievements of the visit stayed behind closed doors. However, they think that, reading between lines, signs of possible compromises on the Syrian and Iranian problems could be found in speeches by Edelstein, Peres and Naryshkin.
