Vladimir Putin will make a working visit to Israel at the Israeli leadership’s invitation on June 25.
Mr Putin will attend the unveiling of a monument marking the Red Army’s victory over Nazi Germany in the town of Netanya.
The initiative to build the monument came from Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during his visit to Moscow in February 2010, and received the Russian leadership’s support. The Israeli Basic Fund and the Prime Minister’s Office acted as the project organisers.
A tender for the best monument project was won by a wide margin by a group of Russian artists led by Salavat Shcherbakov, honoured artist of Russia and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Arts, and Vasily Perfilyev, winner of the Moscow City Government Award.
During a meeting in Moscow on March 24, 2011, Mr Netanyahu personally invited Mr Putin to attend the monument’s unveiling ceremony.
On June 26, at the invitation of President of the Palestinian National Authority Mahmoud Abbas, Mr Putin will make a working visit to Palestine, where he will take part in the official opening of the Russian Scientific and Cultural Centre in Bethlehem.
On the same day, Mr Putin will make a working visit to Jordan at the invitation of His Majesty Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Mr Putin will attend the opening of a hospice for Russian pilgrims built by Russia and located on the territory of a special archaeological site known as the Baptism Site of Jesus Christ on the Jordan River.
The construction of the complex was launched at the initiative of the Russian President after King Abdullah II gave to the Russian Federation a 1-hectare plot of land for free and perpetual use. Russia gained the right of ownership to the land in 2012.
King Abdullah II personally invited Mr Putin to take part in the pilgrimage centre’s opening.