TEL AVIV – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Moscow Monday evening to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, marking the fourth parley between the two leaders over the past year.
The meeting was scheduled to coincide with the 25th anniversary of official diplomatic relations between Israel and Russia.
Netanyahu and Putin are set to discuss the understandings reached during the Israeli leader’s April visit to Moscow concerning increased coordination between the IDF and Russian troops, the Prime Minister’s Office said.
The two were also to continue discussions on renewing the Syrian ceasefire and explore options for ending the civil war. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israeli-Russian economic, trade relations, and cultural ties were also on the agenda, Netanyahu’s office said.
Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel, who accompanied the prime minister to Moscow, will sign a memorandum of understanding concerning agricultural cooperation with his Russian counterpart.
The PMO also said that that Israel and Russia will sign a pensions agreement that aims to “correct a historic injustice regarding emigres from the former USSR up to 1992 who lost their eligibility for a Russian pension” with payments to Soviet-born Israelis expected to begin next year.
Jerusalem and Moscow reestablished formal relations in 1992 after the Soviet Union cut ties following the Six Day War in 1967.
Before his return home on Wednesday, Netanyahu will visit a museum in Moscow exhibiting an Israeli tank captured by the Syrian army during the First Lebanon War. As per Netanyahu’s request to his Russian counterpart in April, Moscow will return the tank to Israel in the coming months.
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