TEL AVIV, January 23. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Israel for a short but eventful visit. The Russian head of state will also make a trip to Bethlehem on Thursday.

According to Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov, the visit is linked to the 75th anniversary of the Red Army’s liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp and the Holocaust Remembrance Day. Putin is expected to address a forum dubbed Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting Antisemitism.

The Russian president will also take part in the unveiling of the Memorial Candle monument in Jerusalem and a ceremony to hand the Order of Courage over to the family of Leon Feldgendler, a hero of the 1943 prisoner uprising at the Sobibor extermination camp.

Besides, Putin will hold talks with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

While in Bethlehem, the Russian leader will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss bilateral and global issues.