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Israel PM heads to Russia after Putin's Iran visit
Jerusalem (AFP) Oct 17, 2007 Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert heads to Russia on Thursday for urgent talks with President Vladimir Putin likely to be dominated by Iran's controversial nuclear programme. "The two intend to discuss a series of regional issues, including the peace process with the Palestinians, Iran's threat and attempt to acquire nuclear weapons, and developments in the region," Olmert's office said on Wednesday. It announced the one-day working visit just hours after Putin left Iran following a landmark visit to Israel's archfoe. "This is a last-minute, urgent meeting," a senior Israeli official told AFP, explaining the 11th-hour announcement of Olmert's travel plans, which come with Israel and the Palestinians in talks ahead of a US-sponsored peace summit. On Tuesday, Putin paid the first visit to Iran by a Kremlin chief since World War II and distanced himself from Western warnings over the country's controversial nuclear programme that Israel considers its biggest threat. Israel considers the Islamic republic its worst enemy and believes its nuclear activities are a cover for developing atomic weapons -- a charge that Tehran vehemently denies. Israel is widely regarded as the region's sole if undeclared nuclear power. Iranian officials said on Wednesday that Putin put forward a proposal to break international deadlock over Iran's nuclear programme during his talks on Tuesday with Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Russia is helping to build Tehran's first nuclear power plant and has a long-standing proposal to carry out Iran's controversial uranium enrichment activities on its soil, something that Tehran has rejected. It was not clear if the new proposal was linked to this. Olmert last visited Moscow in October 2006, when he spent three days in the Russian capital for talks mainly devoted to Iran's nuclear programme. The 16 years of diplomatic ties between Israel and post-Soviet Russia have been frequently marked with tensions over Moscow's relations with Israeli enemies, Iran and Syria, as well as Palestinian hardliners Hamas. Israel claims that Russian weaponry sold to Syria has been passed on to Hezbollah guerrillas, who allegedly used the latest Russian-made anti-tank rockets to deadly effect during war with the Jewish state last year. Moscow has also raised eyebrows in Israel and the United States by maintaining contacts with Hamas, which last June over ran loyalists of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to seize full control of the Gaza Strip. Russia, along with the European Union, the United Nations and the United States, is one of the four sponsors of the Middle East peace process. Related Links Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Commentary: Not since Stalin
Washington (UPI) Oct 17, 2007 The last visit by a Russian leader to Iran was by Joseph Stalin in December 1943 for a secret summit with Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. The British leader wanted the next major allied invasion to target Europe's soft underbelly in the Balkans. The Soviet dictator and the U.S. president outvoted him. Thus, the decision was reached to make the invasion of France, which took place seven months later in 1944, the next geostrategic priority. This second summit, 64 years later, could also prove momentous -- down the road. |
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