"We have received Israel's Prime Minister on many occasions. As I see it, a return visit will come as a token of our respect for Israel and its nation, and of our desire to step up our dialogue. That dialogue aims to step up contacts between the two countries in every field-economic, political, humanitarian and international security," said the President.
He pointed out unique ties between Russia and Israel.
"The Soviet Union was among the founding fathers of the State of Israel-as United Nations Security Council permanent member, it supported the establishment of that state in the postwar years. The Cold War time made relations between our two countries what everyone knows they were. I don't think Israel or the Soviet Union benefited with those relations."
Israel can well be described as a Russian-speaking country-Russian speakers account for 25% of its population, as far as he knows, remarked the President.
He does not think anti-Semitism has taken a dangerous scope in Russia, "though it demands very attentive attitudes". As Putin pointed out, "anti-Semitism is an extremely complicated ethnic phenomenon, rooted in the past, and it is no Russian invention.
"I have to say with regret that anti-Semitic outbreaks are notable even in certain countries traditionally regarded as Israel's strategic partners, while particular post-Soviet countries treat Jews exactly on a par with Russians."
