Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next Tuesday during a four-day visit to Russia, the Kremlin announced Thursday.
The talks will focus on the Middle East situation and bilateral relations, the presidency press service said, cited by AFP.
The Israeli ambassador said Sharon would arrive in Moscow on Monday and leave Russia on Thursday.
The rest of his program was not made public.
The Israeli ambassador to Moscow, Nathan Meron, said last month that Putin was expected to make his first visit to Israel later this year.
On Wednesday, the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported that Sharon was likely to delay his visit to Russia “due to the rising levels of violence between Israel and the Palestinians over the past few days.”
According to the paper, Sharon will ask Putin to join a united international front “against terror.”
Sharon will also tell Putin that the “terror in the Middle East also poses a threat to Russia's security.”
The prime minister will also meet with members of the Russian government, when he will raise the resurgence of anti-Semitism against Russian Jews and the continued leakage of nuclear and missile technology from Russia to Iran, the paper said.
Israel coordinated its positions with the United States, in advance of the visit, at a "strategic dialogue" forum held Monday in Washington, it added - Albawaba.com
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