Transcript of the beginning of the talks:

Vladimir Putin: Esteemed Mr Netanyahu, dear colleagues,

We are delighted to welcome you to Moscow. Good afternoon.

Israel is our long-established partner in the Middle East. As we often say, more than a million of people from Russia live in your country. In fact, Israel is almost a Russian-speaking country.

We are very glad to see you, and we are in constant contact with you on a Middle Eastern peace settlement.

Our economic ties are making good progress. Bilateral trade reached almost three billion in 2008. Unfortunately, it decreased somewhat last year.

We have excellent prospects, however. We should diversify our relations in high technology and in agriculture. We have the opportunities to do so.

Speaking of agriculture, I want to say that Israeli foodstuffs are amply represented in the Russian market, and we are willing to do everything to promote your products in our market. Your Ministry of Agriculture will make more money and, I hope, will soon move into a new main office.

Esteemed Mr Prime Minister, we are grateful for your decision on the St Sergius Metochion. This is important for us as a sign of your goodwill toward Russia.

Welcome!

Benjamin Netanyahu (as translated): Thank you, esteemed Mr Prime Minister. We regard Russia as one of Israel's closest friends. The one million Russian-speaking citizens of Israel are a living bridge between Israel and Russia. They have passed their love for it to us all, and this is one of the reasons for our success in the last decade.

True, there were cultural and ethnic roots even before, which served as the basis for Israeli-Russian relations. This includes my family.

Our ties are a historical tradition. We will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the restoration of our diplomatic relations next year, and I have been able to attest personally to the progress in our relations with Russia since the time when I was an ambassador to the United Nations.

Russia is a superpower in every respect, while Israel is a superpower only in high technology. Naturally, both countries benefit from partnership. I am grateful to you for your intention to strengthen this partnership in high technology, biotechnology, agriculture, and in the other fields you have mentioned.

Mr Putin, next year we will celebrate not only the 20th anniversary of the restoration of our diplomatic relations but also the 65th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany. No one has the right to forget the horrible losses suffered by the Jewish people in the Holocaust in Europe though some people would like to do so.

No one has the right to forget the decisive role played by Russia and the Soviet Army in the victory over Nazi Germany.

I am making plans to commemorate this role in a special public memorial in Israel, which will immortalise the contribution of Russia and the Red Army to the victory over Nazi Germany.

I do hope that we will be able to accomplish this before your visit to Israel.

When you come to Israel, we can visit together both the St Sergius Metochion and the monument under construction to mark the anniversaries of our diplomatic relations and the victory over Nazi Germany.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you. I recently met with the Chief Rabbi to discuss the possibility of building a Holocaust Museum in Moscow.

What I saw in Israel-in particular, the museum-deeply impressed me. It is a private initiative but we will try to provide government help to the initiators of the idea and the organisers of the cause.

The victims of Nazism must not be forgotten. The Jewish people and the peoples of the Soviet Union suffered the most during World War Two. It is our duty to the dead and to the future generations to remember this and similar tragedies, and never allow them to happen again.