PUTIN TO VISIT ISRAEL

Putin to Visit Israel - a 1st for Russia
JERUSALEM -- Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Israel at the end of April, the first visit ever by a Russian leader to the Jewish state, Israeli officials said Tuesday. Israeli-Russian relations have improved greatly in the past 15 years since the fall of the Soviet Union, which supported Israel's Arab enemies.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who is of Russian descent, has visited Moscow three times since taking office in 2001. Sharon, who learned Russian from his parents, has spoken with Putin on the phone. Putin will arrive in Israel on April 27 for a two-day visit, officially as a guest of President Moshe Katsav, said Ron Ben-Yishai, an aide to Katsav. Kremlin officials could not confirm the plan.

Katsav invited Putin during a meeting in Poland earlier in the year at commemorations to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi death camp, and Putin has now formally accepted, Ben-Yishai said. Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and Russian chief of state Boris Yeltsin visited Israel after they left office. During the historic trip Putin will meet with Sharon and other senior Israeli officials for talks on advancing Middle East peace talks, Ben-Yishai said. Katsav, who holds a largely ceremonial position, will host a state banquet for Putin.

Russia is a member of the so-called Quartet of international mediators for the Middle East peacemaking, along with the United States, the United Nations and the European Union. The Quartet sponsored the 2003 "road map" peace plan, a three-stage program for creating a Palestinian state. Neither Israel nor the Palestinians carried out the initial requirements, and the plan has stalled. It was not clear if Putin would also meet with Palestinian officials.

Ties between the two countries have been strained in recent months over a Russian decision to supply Israel's arch-foe, Syria, with advanced missiles.