Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the start of his meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Moscow, "Thank you for accepting the invitation and special thanks for agreeing to hold the meeting today, it is very symbolic, because these days the entire world remembers the victims of the Holocaust." Putin noted, "Among the Jews who were murdered by the Nazis, there were a great many citizens of the Soviet Union, Russia, who contributed greatly to the victory over the Nazis."
He concluded, "We will take this opportunity to talk about our bilateral relations and to discuss the situation in the region."