Israeli President Shimon Peres was awarded on Tuesday a Honorary Doctorate in the Moscow State University of International Relations (MGIMO).
The university's authorities decided to honor Peres for "pushing forward the dialogue between different countries, as well as for the strengthening cooperation between Russia and Israel," MGIMO's rector Anatoly Torkunov said.
During the ceremony, Peres said Israel insists on a peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and added that the country needs strong security guarantees.
"We left Lebanon and the Gaza Strip of our own free will," he said. "In spite of this we came under attack. That's why we will insist that future peace treaties provide measures that will not allow the same thing to happen again," Peres said.
Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization approved last week a U.S. proposal for indirect peace negotiations and the first round of talks is expected to start as early as May.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned on Tuesday of the danger of a rise in Middle East tensions during a visit to Syria, which is in dispute with Israel over the Golan Heights.
MOSCOW, May 11 (RIA Novosti)
