ISRAEL/JERUSALEM: RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IGOR IVANOV ARRIVES IN TEL-AVIV FOR TWO-DAY OFFICIAL VISIT

Record ID: 399053

  • Title: ISRAEL/JERUSALEM: RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IGOR IVANOV ARRIVES IN TEL-AVIV FOR TWO-DAY OFFICIAL VISIT
  • Date: 22nd April 1999
  • Summary: TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (APRIL 22, 1999) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. WS PLANE ON TARMAC 0.05 2. PAN RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IGOR IVANOV GETTING OFF THE PLANE/SHAKING HANDS WITH ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER ARIEL SHARON 0.15 3. SCU CUTAWAY CAMERA OPERATOR 0.18 4. CU (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) IVANOV: "Now with the NATO war action against Yugoslavia going
  • Embargoed: 7th May 1999 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: TEL AVIV, ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM
  • City:
  • Country: Israel
  • Reuters ID: LVAAVI9TE3C8C8TB7OUB2H99NI21
  • Story Text: Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has arrived in
    Israel on a two-day visit aimed at tightening bi-lateral
    relations and promoting peace in the region.

    Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov began a Middle
    East tour on Thursday (April 22) with a visit to Israel, where
    the prospect of closer ties with Moscow has become a hot issue
    ahead of next month's general election.

    Ivanov was welcomed by Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon, who
    whisked him away for a helicopter tour of the West Bank and
    so-called security areas which the former general believes
    Israel must keep in any final peace deal with the
    Palestinians.

    Sharon has spearheaded an apparent drive by the government
    of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to foster closer ties
    with Russia.

    Ivanov told Sharon that his visit would help develop
    relations between the two countries in amore active way.

    "We want to develop our bi-lateral relations actively.And
    it is not being done on the spur of the moment, it is a part
    of our overall strategy." Ivanov said during his meeting with
    Sharon.

    Last week, Sharon visited Moscow for talks which he said
    focused on preventing the transfer of Russian nuclear
    technology to Iran.

    Israel's left-wing Ha'aretz newspaper said Sharon, to the
    consternation of the United States, had asked Russia to
    mediate a deal with Syria for Israeli pullbacks from Lebanon
    and the Golan Heights.Sharon denied the report.

    Netanyahu visited Russia last month and urged Moscow to
    play a more active role in the Middle East peace process in
    its role as co-sponsor with the United States.

    Israeli political commentators speculated Netanyahu and
    Sharon, in visiting Russia, have been trying to curry favour
    in the election campaign with some 700,000 Jews who immigrated
    to Israel from the former Soviet Union in the past 10 years.

    After Netanyahu's trip, Israeli newspapers carried reports
    that Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, a Middle East
    expert, had expressed support for his re-election bid.

    Ivanov was scheduled to hold talks with Netanyahu on
    Friday and also meet separately with his two main challengers
    in the prime ministerial race, Ehud Barak of the opposition
    Labour party and Yitzhak Mordechai of the Centre Party.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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