Remarks of Pres. Putin and PM Netanyahu before and after meeting in Moscow

Before meeting: Beginning of meeting with Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu

PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN: Mr Prime Minister, colleagues, I am very happy to welcome you to Moscow.

I am glad to say that you and I have been in constant contact. We talked on
the phone just recently. I am happy for the opportunity to talk with you
about the situation in the region, as well as complicated international
issues and bilateral relations.

I must say that we are giving significant attention to pressing
international issues. But I suppose that Russia and Israel’s bilateral
relations have their own value, and I hope that you and I will discuss them
today as well. I am referring to our plans to develop economic cooperation
and humanitarian ties.

We also have matters to discuss in the energy sector. Gazprom has started to
explore raw hydrocarbon deposits on your continental shelf in the
Mediterranean Sea. We have already implemented effective, promising projects
in space and aviation. RUSNANO is cooperating with a relevant agency in your
country and also has good prospects.

I am very happy to see you. Welcome!

PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL BENJAMIN NETANYAHU (retranslated): Mr President, I
am happy to meet with you again. Every time we meet, we understand each
other better, and our relations are constantly growing warmer and improving.
I hope this meeting will strengthen the good relations between Russia and
Israel even more, as they have been continuously gaining momentum under your
leadership.

During your last visit to Israel, you saw a monument to Soviet soldiers and
their enormous contribution to the victory over Nazism. For my part, I will
be visiting the museum you founded, dedicated to the Jewish community,
tomorrow.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: You haven’t visited it yet?

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: This is my first opportunity to do so.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: We’ve done even better than you.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Just give us a chance, and we will also show our strong
side.

I feel the mutual appreciation and respect between our nations is
exceedingly important, with regard to both our two peoples’ tragedies and
their aspirations. Naturally, we want to prevent future tragedies. I hope
that our meeting will help contribute to security and peace, and improve our
bilateral relations, as well as the situation in our regions and throughout
the world.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Mr Prime Minister, I remember that this memorial was your
initiative, and you invited me to participate in its opening in Israel.

I just finished a meeting with the leaders of Russia’s non-parliamentary
parties – those that are not represented in parliament. And one of the
participants in this meeting made a suggestion to foster closer cooperation
with Israel to preserve the memory of the tragedy of World War II. I
promised that I would certainly bring up this proposal with you, and that we
will discuss it at the Foreign Ministry level.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: I am happy to accept your proposal.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Thank you.
=================

After meeting:
http://kremlin.ru/transcripts/19662
[Google translation of Russian]

Statements to the press after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu
November 20, 2013 , 22:00 The Kremlin, Moscow

PUTIN: Dear ladies and gentlemen!

Having just completed our talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu. They were traditionally held in a constructive atmosphere .

The relationship between our two countries are friendly and mutually
beneficial , active political dialogue .

We and the Prime Minister discussed in detail the key issues of bilateral
cooperation, and outlined plans for further development of our relations.

Last year, the volume of trade amounted to $ 3 billion. Not all that well,
of course, what number, but despite the global economic challenges, we have
positive momentum . In the first eight months of this year, an increase of
29 percent.

The intergovernmental commission is actively working. The cooperation in the
energy sector. Our two countries are working successfully in space,
September 1 this year, the Russian carrier rocket launched into Earth orbit
Israeli satellite. In our shared plans – development of two national experts
spacecraft for the Israeli side.

An important direction of our interaction – is pharmacy and medicine . One
of the Israeli companies , Teva, is involved in the construction of a plant
for the production of medicines in the Yaroslavl region. And of course we
will support projects of this kind .

Of great interest are Israeli technology in agriculture. Stronger regional
ties. Actively develop humanitarian contacts . In September of this year in
Israel last week, Russian films in November – Days of Russian Spiritual
Culture . I think it would be interesting if the Israeli teams have arrived
in Russia .

The focus was , of course, and international issues. We stand for an early
end to the bloodshed in Syria and we hope to continue the negotiations in
Geneva.

Serious attention is always given to our meetings on settlement in the
Middle East in general. Russia welcomes the resumption of Palestinian-
Israeli negotiations. I spoke at length with the Prime Minister on Iran’s
nuclear program. We expect that in the near future mutually acceptable
solutions will be found. And as shown by consulting the Six with Iran, the
possibility exists, it is, and we, in Russia, in any case, have an
optimistic view of the negotiation process. I hope for the success of the
renewed talks in Geneva today .

I want to thank our guest, Mr. Prime Minister, for today’s meeting and
collaboration. Thank you very much .

PM Netanyahu’s Full Remarks in the Joint Statements with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow

(Communicated by the Prime Minister’s Media Adviser)

Following are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks in the joint statements he and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued in Moscow earlier today (Wednesday, 20 November 2013):

“President Putin, I would like to thank you for the warm reception for myself and my delegation. The simple fact is that under your leadership relations between Israel and Russia have become closer, warmer, more intimate and more productive. You just now detailed only the latest things that we are doing together in the fields of technology, space, agriculture, culture, everything. And you are right, even though there is much trade, there could be much more.

I think that there is a basic sympathy between our two peoples. First of all, because we have over a million Russian speakers in Israel who are familiar not only with the Russian language and the Russia culture, they came from here, from Russia and from the former USSR. They have deep ties. It is expressed today in that our Knesset Speaker speaks Russian, our Foreign Minister speaks Russian, our Deputy Foreign Minister, etc. etc. but it is not only them, it is also us, all of us. Therefore, I first mentioned the symbols, symbols are important. I initiated the memorial in memory of the soldiers of the Red Army and you initiated the Jewish museum here. This is a cultural expression of something very deep and a true bond, not from the language outward, but also of common values and common challenges. Not about everything but about the main things, we have a partnership. This found expression today in our discussion about issues regarding Israel’s national security, and to a certain degree that of Russia as well, which naturally affect the Middle East and the entire world.

For us, for Israel, the biggest threat against us and against global security is Iran’s effort to arm itself with nuclear weapons. Both of our countries have a common goal: We do not want to see Iran with nuclear weapons. Israel’s approach is that the international community needs to insist on its positions as expressed in UN Security Council resolutions, i.e. to halt all enrichment, to remove all enriched material, to dismantle the centrifuges and to stop building the facility in Arak.

I would like remove any doubts. We want a peaceful, diplomatic solution; everyone prefers this over any other solution. But this must be a genuine solution. There is much to learn from the solution in Syria regarding the chemical weapons. There, Russia and others correctly insisted on the full dismantlement of Syria’s chemical weapons.

Mr. President, I would like to congratulate you on the important role that you played in achieving this agreement, and of course now it must be verified that it is being implemented. But I believe that the international community would not have accepted an agreement in which Syria would thin its chemical stocks a little, with most of them remaining in place, as well as the ability to manufacture these weapons, with this ability being retained without any change or reduction. This is, more or less, what is now on the table in Geneva. We think that it is possible to achieve a better agreement, and this demands persistence and stubbornness, of course. But such an agreement, in my view, will really lead to a peaceful, diplomatic conclusion to the crisis over weapons of mass destruction, just as it did in Syria.

Mr. President, I thank you for the time you have given me and the problems that preoccupy us. I will not be revealing a state secret if I tell you that I always enjoy our conversations, that I truly enjoy our conversations, and appreciate the sincerity and the friendship. We agree on many things and sometimes disagree on certain things, but always between sincere friends. I expect to continue working with you on behalf of our common goals. We will certainly do so at dinner and many other opportunities as well. I thank you again for your hospitality.”