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Mossad chief to accompany Netanyahu on official visit to Russia

Vladimir Putin will hold talks with the Israeli prime minister in Sochi on August 23
Yossi Cohen, the head of the Israeli Mossad Heidi Levine, Pool via AP
Yossi Cohen, the head of the Israeli Mossad
© Heidi Levine, Pool via AP

TEL AVIV, August 22. /TASS/. Director of Israel’s national intelligence agency Mossad Yossi Cohen, head of the National Security Council Meir Ben-Shabbat and Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Ze’ev Elkin, who is also Minister of Environmental Protection, will accompany the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his upcoming visit to Russia, a source in the Israeli prime minister’s office told TASS on Tuesday.

"We confirm that Yossi Cohen, Meir Ben-Shabbat and Ze’ev Elkin will travel to Sochi together with the prime minister," the source said. According to her, Elkin will also act as an interpreter for Netanyahu. "He (Elkin) usually serves as an interpreter for the prime minister," the source added.

Meir Ben-Shabbat was appointed head of the Israeli National Security Council on August 15. Before that, he served as a senior official at the Israel Security Agency known as Shabak or Shin Bet.

The Kremlin press service said on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would hold talks with the Israeli prime minister in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on August 23.

"The parties are expected to exchange views on bilateral relations and the situation in the Middle East, including the Syrian issue, the fight against international terrorism and ways to resolve the Israel-Palestine issue, as well as on other regional and global issues," the Kremlin press service elaborated.