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Russian President to Visit Israel Next Year
Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay an official visit to Israel next year, another signal of Moscow's intention to restore its influence in the Middle East region.
The visit was agreed on during talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and visiting Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov Thursday in Juruselem, a statement issued by Barak's office said.
The two sides also agreed to deepen links between the national security councils of the two countries, according to the statement.
Russia, a co-sponsor of the Mideast peace process since the 1991 Madrid peace conference, was trying in the past few years to reassert its influence in the region, which had significantly waned since the breakup of the former Soviet Union in 1991.
It sensed that the opportunity has come as the violence has been raging in the region for seven weeks and the Palestinians now regarded the United States, the practically sole sponsor of the peace process in the past years, as partial and biased and called for more international involvement.
Barak at the meeting briefed Ivanov on the recent clashes between Israeli forces and the Palestinians, and asked Ivanov to "unequivocally demand that Palestinian (National) Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat halt the violence and incitement immediately."
The prime minister accused Arafat of abandoning peace talks with Israel "which would lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state," and "choosing the path of violence that endangers regional stability and the interests of the international community" instead.
More than 220 people have been killed and thousands more wounded in the clashes. But the vast majority of the victims were Palestinians.
If the Palestinians unilaterally declare independence due to the violence, Barak further threatened, Israel "would be unable to remain indifferent to the risks...and would be compelled to take steps to protect its interests."
Ivanov, who began his visit to Israel Wednesday, expressed concern that continued escalation would be liable to bring about a regional deterioration, and stressed Russia's support for a continuation of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
He added that Russia would not support a decision on the issue of international observers without Israel's consent.
The Palestinians have been demanding the United Nations dispatch a 2,000-strong peacekeeping force to the territories to protect Palestinians from Israel's "excessive use of force." Israel categorically rejected the idea.
Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, along with the United States, France, Britain and China.
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