Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, I believe we met in St Petersburg in June. I am happy to see you again here in Moscow.
Israel is one of Russia's priority partners in the Middle East. We have also developed friendly relations over the past decades. We certainly value our contact and plan to continue promoting it.
Last year trade between our two countries reached nearly $3 billion, which is fairly strong. Unfortunately, growth rates decreased in early 2009, but began to recover in the second half. We have far-reaching plans for cooperation in high tech, nanotechnology and in energy.
We are glad to see you. Welcome!
Avigdor Lieberman: Thank you. We had a very productive meeting with First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov as part of the Intergovernmental Commission on Bilateral Relations. I'd like to highlight that I have been watching over the commission's operation for many years and can say that it is very effective today.
I can always cite one way to reduce red tape and really make a difference. I am referring to the visa-free process established between Russia and Israel. This is likely to double the number of Russian tourists traveling to Israel to 400,000 this year from 170,000. The number of Israelis travelling to Russia is expected to double as well. Airline seats will be more fully occupied, and hotels, too. There will be more flights as well.
This is the most vivid example. We also discussed May 9 Victory Day celebrations, which will be held in Israel and in Russia as well. We'll exchange war veteran delegations.
I believe that 2010 will be a landmark year in our relations. We plan to reach a consensus on many agreements, which will not get bogged down in red tape, including measures to help protect Russian and Israeli investment.
The commission will invite the business communities from both countries to its next session in April 2010. This session has been really successful and productive. I will be happy to see you in Israel next year.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you very much. You know that there is a large Russian community in Israel, and you are part of it. I am glad that people from the Soviet Union built such brilliant political careers in Israel. This is something that unites us in a way that is unlike with any other country.
Thank you for the invitation. I will certainly be there.