Putin Promotes Peace Conference in Israel

04/28/2005

JERUSALEM (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday there was a unique chance to achieve a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, if both sides were willing to seize the opportunity.

Putin spoke on the second day of his historic visit to Israel - the first trip here by a Kremlin leader - which was intended to boost his country’s profile in the international arena.

Putin proposed Wednesday that Russia host a Mideast peace conference in the fall, after Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip. Palestinians warmly embraced the idea, but Israel and the United States brushed it aside.

“We think there is a chance now to achieve a just Israeli-Palestinian settlement ... much will depend on Israel’s willingness and the Palestinians’ willingness, first and foremost,” Putin said.

Putin was greeted Thursday morning by the pomp of an official welcoming ceremony, complete with a military honor guard and Jewish, Muslim and Christian religious leaders.

But in addition to the disagreement over the conference, Putin’s visit was also shadowed by disagreements with Israel over Russia’s aid to Syria and Iran, two of Israel’s staunchest enemies. Russia has provided assistance for Iran’s nuclear program and has agreed to sell anti-aircraft missiles to Syria. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has said repeatedly the missiles pose a danger to Israel and wants Putin to halt the deal.

Putin discussed the weapons sales in a meeting Thursday morning with Israeli President Moshe Katsav, who holds a largely ceremonial role.

Putin said Russia was sensitive to Israel’s security concerns, but the missiles it was selling to Syria could not be used to target Israeli territory and were specially designed to make them useless to terror groups. He said he vetoed the sale of longer-range missiles to Syria.

“We are taking the opinions and concerns of our partners into consideration, and not changing the balance of power in the region,” he said. “Israel has no problem here.”

The visit to Israel cements a dramatic improvement in relations for two nations that were once enemies. On Friday, Putin is to travel to the West Bank city of Ramallah for talks with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

“Not long ago, it would have been impossible to imagine a visit by the Russian head of state to Israel. It is a good sign,” Putin said Thursday.

During the ceremony, Putin, who has equated his fight against Chechen rebels with Israel’s fight against Palestinian militants, said he wanted to cooperate more closely with Israel in fighting terror. Katsav, in turn, said Russia needs to fight the growing threat of anti-Semitism.

The two leaders unveiled a monument donated by Russia that memorializes the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust. The Russian sculpture depicts six naked figures, one a small child, standing in a circle surrounded by barbed wire.

“In the 21st Century, there can be no place for xenophobia, anti-Semitism or other forms of racial or religious intolerance,” Putin said. “This is not only our debt to the millions who died in the gas chambers, it is our duty to future generations.”

Both leaders said they were interested in further improving ties. “I believe this official visit will be a milestone in the development of relations between us,” Katsav said.

The “road map” peace plan - sponsored by the so-called Quartet of Mideast mediators that includes Russia - calls for conference of the type proposed by Putin in its second stage.

Israel argues the peace plan hasn’t yet gotten off the ground because the Palestinians have not fulfilled one of their first obligations, the dismantling of militant groups. Israel has also failed to meet its initial obligations, including freezing settlement construction and dismantling unauthorized West Bank settlement outposts.

Asaf Shariv, a Sharon adviser, said Thursday that holding such a conference is “very premature,” and that the two sides are still far away from phase two. Israel accepts U.S. mediation but has traditionally objected to attempts by others to play a role in negotiating a Mideast peace deal, fearing pro-Palestinian bias.

U.S. reaction to the conference idea was also cool. “We believe there will be an appropriate time for an international conference, but we are not at that stage now, and I don’t expect that we will be there by the fall,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

Israeli Vice Premier Ehud Olmert said Thursday that Russia is selling Iran components that can be used to make non-conventional weapons, and that Russia’s assistance to Iran is a cause of concern. Israel accuses Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, though Tehran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

“His deal with Iran is not just an arms deal,” Olmert told Army Radio on Thursday, referring to Putin. “He also supplies Iran with components that could be used for possible production of unconventional weapons.”

After his meeting with Katsav, Putin said Thursday that Iran must accept international monitoring of its nuclear activities.

The United States had announced Wednesday it had authorized the sale of as many as 100 large bunker-buster bombs to Israel, which experts saw as a warning to Iran about its nuclear ambitions.

Olmert also said he is not pleased with the Syrian missile deal but also noted that Russia isn’t the only country that sells weapons to Mideast countries.

Israeli media reported Thursday that Sharon also opposes Russia’s plan to sell military equipment to the Palestinians. Palestinian officials have said Russia is interested in selling armored vehicles to their security services for use in riot control. Israel fears the armored vehicles could fall into the hands of militants.

Immediately after his arrival Wednesday evening, Putin visited two Jerusalem landmarks - the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest shrine, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built over the site where tradition says Jesus was crucified and buried.

The Putin visit caps recent warming relations between Israel and Russia. Moscow helped arm and support Arab nations fighting against Israel, and barred Jews from leaving, jailing many who demanded the right to emigrate to Israel.

As the Soviet Union was collapsing in the early 1990s, the two nations restored ties, and Moscow loosened the emigration restrictions, prompting more than a million Russian speakers to immigrate here.

Relations have been further improved by Putin, who took office in 2000.