BOCHAROV RUCHEI, Sochi. Sept 13 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he accepted an invitation from the Israeli president to visit Israel at the beginning of next year.
"The president of Israel has invited me to visit Israel at the beginning of next year on the occasion of the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the Holocaust Remembrance Day. Please tell Mr. President that I will be greatly delighted to come to Israel," Putin said at a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Sochi on Thursday.
Putin proposed that, if possible, a memorial dedicated to the Siege of Leningrad in Israel be unveiled at this time, too. He said he had been invited to this ceremony as well.
Russia and Israel share the same approach to problems of the past, including WWII, Putin said. "The Jewish people suffered like perhaps no one else, if we don't count the Russian people - 25 million of our people perished, that's a serious loss," he said.
Netanyahu said Israel will mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, and the unveiling of the monument to the heroes of the Siege of Leningrad is planned to take place at this time as well.
"We will never forget the immense contribution that the Russian people and the Russian army made to the victory over Nazi Germany," Netanyahu said.