President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Ladies and gentlemen,
Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and I have just completed our talks. As always, they were held in a business-minded, constructive atmosphere.
Relations between our nations are friendly and mutually beneficial, and we maintain an active political dialogue.
Mr Prime Minister and I had a detailed discussion concerning the key issues in our bilateral cooperation and made plans for the future development of our relations.
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Last year, our trade volume was $3 billion. This may not be an outstanding figure, but it is a positive trend in spite of global economic problems. In the first eight months of this year, we saw an increase of 29%.
The intergovernmental commission is working actively. We are broadening cooperation in energy. Our nations are working successfully in the air and space sector. On September 1, 2013 an Israeli satellite was launched into orbit on a Russian launch vehicle. Our common plans include the development of two more space vehicles for the Israeli side by Russian specialists.
Pharmaceuticals and medicine are an important element in our cooperation. Teva, an Israeli company, is participating in the construction of a pharmaceutical factory in Yaroslavl Region. Naturally, we will support similar projects.
We are very interested in Israeli agricultural technologies. We are strengthening regional ties and actively developing humanitarian contacts. In September 2013, the Russian Film Week was held in Israel, and the Days of Russian Spiritual Culture were held in November. I think it would be interesting if Israeli performers were to come to Russia as well.
Of course, international problems were also at the centre of our attention. We are calling for a rapid end to the bloodshed in Syria and hope to see continuation of talks in Geneva.
We always give serious attention in our meetings to the Middle East settlement. Russia welcomes the renewal of Palestinian-Israeli talks. Mr Prime Minister and I had a detailed discussion on issues related to the Iranian Nuclear Programme. We expect that mutually acceptable resolutions will be reached in the near future. As the sextet consultations with Iran demonstrated, that possibility does exist. And here in Russia, we have an optimistic view of the negotiation process. I am hoping that the Geneva talks, which resumed today, will be successful.
I would like to thank our guest, Mr Prime Minister, for today’s meeting and our joint work. Thank you very much.
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