JERUSALEM: RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SERGEI LAVROV HAS TALKS WITH ARIEL SHARON

Record ID: 649394

  • Title: JERUSALEM: RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SERGEI LAVROV HAS TALKS WITH ARIEL SHARON
  • Date: 23rd November 2004
  • Summary: (W6) JERUSALEM (NOVEMBER 23, 2004) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON AND GREETING RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SERGEI LAVROV VARIOUS OF RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SERGEI LAVROV SHAKING HANDS WITH SHARON WIDE OF (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON WELCOMING LAVROV, SAYING: "Good evening I am happy to see you here again (addressing the media in the room). We are happy to host the foreign minister of Russia Mr. Lavrov. We hope that following the visit here the relationship between us and Russia will strengthen, we have an interest in that. Mr. Lavrov's visit is short, he had visited us two months ago and I hope he will enjoy this visit. Thank you". SCU (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SERGEI LAVROV SAYING: "I am happy to be here in the Holy Land. We will try to contribute to finding a lasting agreement in the Middle East. In Sharm El-Sheikh the quartet met earlier. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told us about his impressions of the area from his visit to Israel and we hope that there will be a new opportunity to contribute to the matters at hand. I hope that this visit will assist in strengthening the relationship between the two countries." VARIOUS OF LAVROV AND SHARON/ SHAKING HANDS
  • Embargoed: 8th December 2004 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: JERUSALEM
  • City:
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: General,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAB9YN89GRM0YQS1KOB3V2AN35P
  • Story Text: Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov holds talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Jerusalem.
    Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in Jerusalem on Tuesday (November 23).
    The Russian foreign minister arrived in Israeli earlier on Tuesday and is scheduled to meet with a number of Israeli and Palestinian officials as part of his brief one-day visit.
    Lavrov's visit comes straight on the heels of a visit to Egypt where members of the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators met.
    The members, meeting in Sharm El-Sheikh, urged Israel to ease restrictions on Palestinians before January elections to choose a successor to late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
    Responding to a question on whether Israel should remove the roadblocks and pull troops back from around Palestinian towns, Lavrov said in Egypt, "We certainly believe that whatever gestures aimed at confidence building Israel could make would be helpful at this stage."
    "Israel could assist with getting in touch with the Palestinians and ensuring that all those Palestinians who want to vote can do so," he added.
    Later on Tuesday evening, during his meeting with Sharon, Lavrov said: "I am happy to be here in the Holy Land. We will try to contribute to finding a lasting agreement in the Middle East. In Sharm El-Sheikh the quartet met earlier. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told us about his impressions of the area from his visit to Israel and we hope that there will be a new opportunity to contribute to the matters at hand. I hope that this visit will assist in strengthening the relationship between the two countries."
    Lavrov is also due to meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and with Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie and Palestinian presidential candidate Mahmoud Abbas. Lavrov is the second of three high-ranking international figures scheduled to visit the region this week. U.S.
    Secretary of State Colin Powell met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Monday (November 22) and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is scheduled to arrive in the region on Wednesday (November 24).
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register