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Thursday, February 4, 2016
Knesset Speaker Edelstein hosts Russian Federation Council head Matvienko; says ”cooperation on Syria crucial to prevent flow of weapons to Hezbollah”

Knesset Speaker Edelstein hosts Russian Federation Council head Matvienko;
says ”cooperation on Syria crucial to prevent flow of weapons to Hezbollah”
Publicized: February 3, 2016
https://www.knesset.gov.il/spokesman/eng/PR_eng.asp?PRID=11924

The chairwoman of the Russian Federation Council, Valentina Matvienko,
visited the Knesset on Wednesday as a guest of Speaker Yuli-Yoel Edelstein.
Following a welcome ceremony at Weil Plaza, Matvienko laid a wreath at the
foot of the memorial for fallen IDF soldiers, signed the Knesset guestbook
and then signed, along with Edelstein, a cooperation agreement between the
Knesset and the Russian Federation Council, which is the upper chamber of
the Russian parliament.

The agreement states, among other things, that ”the Parties will, under
their competence, contribute to development of political, economic,
scientific, cultural and humanitarian ties between the Russian Federation
and the State of Israel. The Parties will, under their competence, promote
parliamentary cooperation between the Russian Federation and the State of
Israel through dialogue and consultation to further develop a contractual
and legal framework ensuring the improvement of the relationship between the
two States in the spheres of mutual interest. The Parties will encourage
creating direct ties between representative bodies of constitutive entities
of the Russian Federation and districts of the State of Israel”.

The treaty further states that ”The Parties will exchange information on
legislative activities and best practices in the law making process, on
official publications and documents of mutual interest pursuant to the
legislation of the States of the Parties and Regulations of the Parties.
With a view to further developing inter-parliamentary ties, the Parties will
practice the exchange of visits of delegations, promote closer interaction
between relevant committees and commissions of the Parties, cooperation
groups of the Parties, Members of the Parliaments of the parties and
administrations of the Parties and also further cooperation in other fields
mutually agreed upon.”

After signing the agreement, Matvienko and Edelstein held a work meeting
with the participation of MK Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud), the chairman of the
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, and MK Robert Ilatov (Yisrael
Beitenu), who heads the Israel-Russia Parliamentary Friendship Group.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, Edelstein wished a speedy recovery
to those who were injured in the terror attack in Jerusalem, which occurred
earlier in the day, and addressed a question on the cooperation between
Israel and Russia with regards to the situation in Syria. ”This cooperation
between our countries is important, particularly in light of the fear that
weapons will flow from Syria to Hezbollah,” he said. ”This is not just
another organization. It is an enemy of Israel.”

Responding to a question about the stalled peace negotiations with the
Palestinians, Edelstein said, ”As Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu has
already stated, Israel has no restricting conditions for the launch of
negotiations. Russia can assist and promote negotiations, but it seems odd
to me that a country located so far away needs to help, while our close
neighbors are not helping in the negotiations.”

Matvienko spoke about the cooperation between Israel and Russia and said she
was pleased with the ”mechanism that was created during the meeting last
summer between President [Vladimir] Putin and Prime Minister Netanyahu with
regards to Syria.”

”We are conducting dialogue with Syrian organizations, but we will not allow
the transfer of weapons to an organization that wreaks destruction and
death,” she stressed.

Asked about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the head of the Russian
Federation Council said it must be resolved diplomatically. ”We are
concerned about the escalation of the past few months, and we will work
towards finding a solution,” Matvienko added.

Later, during the plenary sitting, Speaker Edelstein welcomed the members of
the Russian delegation, who were observing the session from the VIP gallery.
He mentioned that Israel and Russia are marking 25 years since the renewal
of diplomatic relations between them by strengthening relations, ”and this
visit is a part of it.”

”Israel and Russia share a long historic legacy of more than 1,000 years,
during which rich Jewish life of diverse creativity prospered throughout
Russia,” Edelstein said. ”We are deeply familiar with the dramatic role the
Red Army played in defeating the Nazis in World War Two. The Jewish and
Russian nations fought shoulder to shoulder. About half a million Jewish
soldiers fought in the ranks of the Red Army, and some 200,000 of them were
killed in action. To this day Israel and the Knesset mark the victory of the
Allied Forces, which caused the historic turnaround and stopped the
catastrophe.”

”Our history had chapters of conflict, mainly during the Cold War,”
Edelstein continued to say. ”Thankfully, this conflict ended and there are
good relations between Russia and Israel. We seek to tighten the dialogue on
all levels and develop the relations in the areas of economy, culture and
more. I hope Russia and Israel will continue to cooperate on many issues
that are important to both countries.”

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