MOSCOW, December 16. /TASS/. Preparations for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s January visit to Israel are underway but Moscow is unaware whether US President Donald Trump would make a visit to the country on the same dates, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, when asked if a Putin-Trump meeting could take place in Israel.

"We are unaware whether Trump will be there but preparations for the Russian president’s visit are indeed underway," he said.

Vladimir Putin announced at his September meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he planned to visit the country in early 2020 in order to attend events dedicated to the Auschwitz concentration camp liberation anniversary and the Holocaust Remembrance Day. Netanyahu, in turn, said that a monument to the victims of the Siege of Leningrad would be unveiled in Israel in January.