OREANDA-NEWS. March 17, 2008. Ehud Olmert congratulated Vladimir Putin on the successful completion of the campaign to elect the new Russian President and expressed his appreciation for Mr Putin’s significant contribution to the development of Russian-Israeli cooperation, cooperation that has made significant progress in recent years. During the talks both parties noted with satisfaction that their bilateral relations are gaining momentum. A concrete manifestation of this development is the forthcoming signing of an agreement to introduce a visa-free regime which will give further impetus to ties between the two countries.

In referring to the situation in the Middle East, the Russian President expressed his confidence that real progress in the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue will prevent the escalation of violence. Russia will continue to contribute to reaching such progress.

The conversation took place at the initiative of the Israeli party.