Russia to build Holocaust remembrance museum

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1150191.html

In return for Putin's pledge to erect memorial Netanyahu says Israel will build monument to Soviet army.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Tuesday told his visiting Israeli counterpart that Russia will build a Holocaust remembrance museum.

During talks in Moscow dominated by the international drive to halt Iran's nuclear program, Putin promised that Russia would build a memorial dedicated to the Nazi extermination of millions of Jews.

In return, Netanyahu said Israel would erect a monument to the Soviet army, to be completed in time for Putin's scheduled trip to Israel next year to the 66th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.

Russia, which was allied to Germany until the Nazis invaded it in 1941, hopes to erase any doubt about the Soviet Union's role in the allied victory.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu appeared to be making progress toward the main goal of his visit - persuading Russia to back new international sanctions against Iran.

Israeli officials traveling with the prime minister said Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had made "harsh statements on the Iranian issue, the likes of which we've never heard from him".

Russia also reportedly agreed to delay the delivery of advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran, another key Israeli request.