President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Mr President,
I am very pleased to welcome you to Sochi. I want to thank you for having accepted my invitation to meet and talk to each other.
I very much hope that our meeting will enable us to discuss a wide variety of issues. You are one of the most experienced politicians in the world, a person who knows a great deal and who has been in attendance at very many events.
I think that we will be able to consider Russian-Israeli relations very seriously, as well as talk about the most difficult issues, including a Middle East settlement and regional issues – issues where there are more difficulties than we would like, but which still need to be discussed.
Once again, welcome to Sochi.
President of Israel Shimon Peres (translated from Russian): Thank you very much, Mr President, for the warm welcome and invitation. This is a very good opportunity for me to exchange views with you.
Your country is a global power, a member of the Quartet [along with the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations] which has a great influence in our region, the Middle East. I have no doubt that Russia is wholeheartedly ready to contribute to solving our problems and really aspires to peace. Russia now has a younger leadership. They say that the future belongs to the youth: this is true, but we can still make a contribution in our countries.
We will discuss a range of issues but I think the critical issue is peace in the Middle East. Naturally, we will also discuss our bilateral relations, relations between Russia and Israel, which have recently improved.
I came here with high expectations and once again wish to thank you for the invitation.
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