 |
Russian President Vladimir Putin lights a
candle, as he visits the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, believed to
be built on the site of Jesus' last resting place after his body was
removed from the cross in the old town of Jerusalem, Wednesday,
April 27, 2005. |
Greeted by beaming Israeli officials, Vladimir
Putin on Wednesday became the first Kremlin leader to visit the Jewish
state, capping a historic rapprochement
between two nations that once faced each other as
bitter enemies across the Cold War divide.
Putin, on his first Middle East trip, was also hoping to restore his
country's profile as a major player in the region and the world, bringing
with him a fresh proposal for a conference to be held in Moscow in the
autumn.
"Considering the history of relations and the fact
that there were times that we were on one side and Russia was entirely on
the other side. The visit indicates the significant change that took place
between the two countries," Israeli Vice Premier Ehud Olmert said as he
stood on the airport tarmac
waiting to greet Putin.
The Soviet Union supported Israel during the Jewish state's early
years, but relations soon deteriorated — and eventually collapsed — as
Israel increasingly allied itself with the United States. Moscow cut ties
with Israel in 1967 in the context of a Mideast war and strongly backed
the Arab states. In many of its wars with its Arab neighbors, Israel found
itself facing Soviet-trained pilots flying Soviet MiGs fighter jets.
Moscow also barred Jews from leaving, jailing many who demanded the
right to emigrate to Israel.
As the Soviet Union was collapsing in the early 1990s, the two nations
restored ties, and Moscow loosened emigration restrictions, prompting more
than a million Russian speakers to immigrate here. Natan Sharansky, a
Jewish emigration activist who spent nine years in a Soviet jail on an
espionage charge, is now Israel's minister for Diaspora affairs. Sharansky
and Putin have no plans to meet, according to Israeli and Russian
officials.
Relations are continuing to improve under Putin, who took office in
2000, as he tries to push Russia's economic interests abroad and evoke
parallels between Israel's conflict with Palestinian militants and
Russia's campaign against Chechen rebels.
But there are strains as well, including Russia's determination to push
ahead with a missile sale to Syria, one of Israel's bitterest enemies.
Other potential sore points include Moscow's nuclear aid to Iran and signs
of rising anti-Semitism in Russia.
Putin has sought to use the Middle East conflict
to help restore Russia's stature on the international stage, where its
presence is dwarfed by the United States. It has joined Europe, the United Nations and the
United States in the so-called Quartet of Mideast peacemakers, and Palestinians view Russia
as an important counterweight to U.S. support for Israel.
(Agencies) |