Putin invites Bennett to visit St. Petersburg

Tel Aviv, Oct 24 (IANS) Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for another visit to the country, following their first-ever meeting in Sochi."The President invited the Prime Minister and his wife to visit the city of St. Petersburg," Bennett's office said in a statement.Putin called Bennett on Saturday ahead of Bennett's departure from the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, where the two met on Friday for a five-hour talk on Syria, Iran and bilateral cooperation, reports Xinhua news agency."President Putin inquired about Prime Minister Bennett's well-being after the weekend in Sochi and thanked him for their good and in-depth meeting yesterday," the statement read.Bennett thanked Putin for "the warm hospitality" and their "helpful" meeting, which according to the Prime Minister, will "help strengthen the ties between the countries.""The Prime Minister accepted the invitation and replied that he would be happy to pay a follow-up visit," the statement added.This was Bennett's first official trip to Russia after becoming Prime Minister in June.His predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, held many meetings with Putin.
--IANS ksk/

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