Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman in St Petersburg
Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: Mr Deputy Prime Minister, we are happy to welcome you to Russia.
Would you mind speaking without an interpreter?
Avigdor Liberman: No, I wouldn't. I hope we can do without an interpreter.
Vladimir Putin: Great. It is gratifying to realise that people who know more than hearsay about this country are appointed to such high posts in Israel. I hope that it will be an additional impetus for the development of Russian-Israeli relations in the spirit of friendship, interaction, a bid to find solutions to regional problems, and for the development of cultural and economic relations.
We are happy to see you in Russia. Welcome!
Avigdor Liberman: Thank you very much, Mr Prime Minister. I have already cited a quote by the great Vladimir Vysotsky, "They are by quarter our former people." So, in this sense Israel is a unique country.
Naturally, it is impossible to forget the historical heritage which former Soviet citizens brought to Israel, and the contribution all these people continue to make in the development of modern Israel.
I believe our relations to be unique. I mentioned at today's meeting that last night I switched on a Russian TV channel before going to sleep to watch a programme about Alexander Pushkin's birthday celebrations; Pushkin's descendants gathered to mark the anniversary from many countries. I watched the programme to the end.
I should tell you that in Israel these celebrations are even more elaborate. Far more events have been organised, and they are more solemn.
Vladimir Putin: Feeling nostalgic?
Avigdor Liberman: Alexander Pushkin has Ethiopian roots. There is a big community of Ethiopian Jews in Israel.
Anyway, I think our relations have reached a very high level and a scope we didn't dare to dream of before; I am referring to both economic and personal relations.
I arrived here on a plane which was full of people; there are about 40 flights between Tel-Aviv and Moscow weekly, not to mention other destinations in our countries.
We hold regular political consultations, but I hope we will step up our interaction in this area boosting the effectiveness of these consultations, both from the viewpoint of political mutual understanding, and the economy and even cultural contacts.
The abolition of visa restrictions with Russia has been another positive contribution to the development of our relations. I remember initial mistrust towards this step. Today everyone understands its importance for promoting tourism, communication and business. So, I hope we will manage to make one more leap forward.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you.
You have mentioned our economic contacts. Last year trade turnover reached almost $3 billion; on the face of it, it's not a large sum, but the growth rate was impressive. This year we are witnessing a certain decrease connected with the global economic downturn. Naturally, we must try our best to minimise the negative consequences of the global financial and economic crisis and to find new areas of cooperation in current conditions.
I am referring to Israeli President Shimon Peres' proposals. He spoke about a high technology foundation, where we could effectively cooperate. I fully agree with him on this issue since a great number of our former fellow citizens live in Israel today. These are mainly technical specialists, highly skilled experts. It is easy for them to develop direct contacts with their former colleagues in order to carry out long-term projects by taking advantage of the latest achievements in global science and technology.
We could cooperate in nanotechnology and space exploration; we have long been making space launches in the interests of Israel. There are many promising areas of cooperation in the energy industry. I am referring to our previous plans for supplying gas to Israel (according to our analysts, by 2015 Israel's demand for natural gas will increase eightfold) as well as other areas in the energy industry, including energy saving technologies and so on.
All in all, there are both large-scale projects and smaller projects in terms of capital investment, but all of them are promising. I hope we will also discuss them today.
