Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to the Russian FederationAlexander Ben Zvi.
Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to the Russian Federation Alexander Ben Zvi.
First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov took part in the conversation.
Grigory Karasin noted that the two countries will observe the 30th anniversary of restoring diplomatic relations this year. They have maintained intensive contacts recently.
“Russia and Israel are partners; their relations are immune to political posturing. They can discuss the most pressing issues in their dialogue,” Karasin said.
Mr Karasin emphasised that after overcoming the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, it would be important to restore and expand pre-crisis volumes of bilateral economic cooperation. He expressed hope that the Mixed Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation would be able to hold its regular meeting this autumn.
The senator recalled that in 2020 Russia marked the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory together with the rest of the world.
“Veterans of the Great Patriotic War who live in Israel received over 13,000 medals. The unveiling of a monument to the defenders and residents of Leningrad in Jerusalem in January 2020 was a momentous event,” Mr Karasin said.
“We cherish the memory of millions of Jews who perished during World War II,” said Mr Karasin.
The Senator noted that Russia is countering the revision of history by means of legislation.
“We are confident that our Israeli partners will not ignore the many manifestations of anti-Semitism in Ukraine and the Baltic countries,” he said.
A separate discussion concerned the adoption by Poland of a draft law on the restitution of the property for Holocaust victims. Alexander Ben Zvi shared his thoughts, describing the situation as “a big blow to Holocaust survivors.”
The Senator emphasised that Russia is an active opponent of ethnic strife, anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia and religious intolerance. He said in May 2022, St Petersburg will host a World Conference on Intercultural and Interfaith Dialogue under the aegis of the UN and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
“We attach great importance to this event,“ Mr Karasin noted.
During the meeting, the participants also discussed the re-registration of the St Alexander Mission in Jerusalem, the overcoming of the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic and the invigoration of interparliamentary ties.