Yelena BONDAREVA Analytical observer, "Voice of Russia" Senior researcher, Russian Academy of Sciences Ph. D. (History) In late April 2005, Vladimir Putin paid a visit to the Middle East, which may be described without exaggeration as historical. He visited Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian Authority - according to international observers, this is a classical route, as US politicians also visit Middle Eastern states in this very order. The historical significance of the trip does not come down to the fact that this is the first time that a serving leader of this country has made such a "triple tour", or that Russia is assuming a more active role of Middle East peace "negotiator" as a member of the International Quartet - it also lies in the substance of each of the three portions of the tour. The day before It should be said that the atmosphere on the eve of Vladimir Putin's стр. 107 state visit to Israel had become seriously aggravated. What is more, it was hard to escape the impression that it was being purposely aggravated. The negotiations over military supplies to Syria, which led to an emotional outburst in Israeli press, had just "happened" to reach an active stage. As though by accident, several days before the president left the Russian capital, consultations on nuclear cooperation had been held in Moscow with a high Iranian official - which once again evoked a squall of indignation in Israel. These were also the days when Leonid Nevzlin suddenly broke his long silence and started hurling thunderbolts at the President of Russia who had impinged upon Khodorkovsky's empire. With so much noise made, one got an impression this was not just a background but actually a noise screen designed to cover up the really serious and strictly confidential negotiations of the heads of the two states. Israeli press, both Russian-language periodicals and leading Hebrew and English dailies - Maariv, Haaretz, Jerusalem Post, etc. - all brought up the same point, " ... Читать далее