The head of the Russian Security Council met in Jerusalem with the Israeli Foreign Minister

The head of the National Security Council of the Russian Federation, Igor Ivanov, met in Jerusalem this morning, April 11, with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to discuss current Middle Eastern problems, NEWSru Israel reports.

After his meeting with Livni, Ivanov is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Ivanov's visit to Israel will last until April 12. During this time, he plans to meet not only with Israeli but also with Palestinian senior officials. Tomorrow Ivanov will go to Ramallah for a meeting with the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.

Ivanov arrived in Israel the day before. At the same time, he met with the relatives of Israeli soldiers Gilad Shalit, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, kidnapped by Lebanese and Palestinian terrorists. During the meeting, issues of their release were discussed. Let us recall that the day before Hamas handed over a list with the names of 450 Palestinian prisoners whom it demands to be released in exchange for 20-year-old Corporal Shalit.

Ivanov's visit to the Middle East takes place in the context of a noticeable intensification of international diplomacy efforts aimed at unblocking the Middle East settlement process. A number of foreign politicians have visited the region over the past two weeks, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.