Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu thanked Russsian President Vladimir Putin for his role in returning the tank from the Battle of Sultan Yacoub to Israel at a joint pres conference on Tuesday.
"Mr. President, the fact that you acceded to my request and that of the IDF Chief-of-Staff to return to Israel the tank from the Battle of Sultan Yacoub attests to the strength of our bilateral relations. This is a humanitarian gesture of the highest order for the families of the MIAs from this battle who for decades have had no grave to visit. We are not abandoning our MIAs and we will continue to look for what happened to them and bring them back home but at this time I would like to thank you on behalf of myself, the people of Israel and the families for this important gesture. It touches our hearts," he said.