Source: The Jerusalem Post
On April 29, 2005 The Jerusalem Post reported, "Russian President Vadimir Putin and President Moshe Katsav on Thursday signed a joint statement of cooperation which confirmed their commitment to combat anti-Semitism, xenophobia and national and religious intolerance. The statement in its preamble paid tribute to victims of the Holocaust and World War II. It then recognized the crucial contribution of the Red Army to the victory over fascism and reaffirmed the determination of both presidents 'to prevent yet another Holocaust tragedy and not to allow the attempts to rewrite history and the glorification of fascism.' The two presidents signed the statement after emerging from a meeting that lasted almost two hours. Putin had earlier in the morning presented the people of Israel with a large, impressive sculpture depicting a cluster of near-naked Holocaust survivors inside a barbed-wire compound on liberation day. The sculpture occupies a prominent position in the grounds of Beit Hanassi, the official residence of the president of Israel. Resurgent anti-Semitism in Russia and elsewhere was among the subjects discussed by Katsav and Putin at their meeting."