Hopes Slim as Sharon Plans Talks With Putin

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon goes to Russia today for talks with President Vladimir V. Putin as part of intense diplomatic efforts to end 11 months of Israeli-Palestinian violence.

Sharon is expected to head for Moscow after meeting with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who is trying to help arrange a meeting later this week between Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres.

Hopes of a breakthrough are slim after a recent surge in the violence that has killed more than 750 people in 11 months and pushed mutual trust to a new low.

But Russia, the EU and the United States are in frequent contact over the bloodshed, and Sharon’s visit gives Moscow a chance to raise its profile in the moribund Middle East peace process, of which it is the co-sponsor with Washington.

“Our main task is to convince the sides to halt violence and sit down at the negotiating table,” Russian Foreign Minister Igor S. Ivanov said in Moscow.

Sharon also hopes to strengthen economic and political ties with Moscow on his first trip to Russia since he was elected in February on a promise to increase Israelis’ security.

“It is very important to strengthen Israel’s relations with Russia,” Sharon told Russian reporters in Israel.

Sharon is due to meet with Putin in the Kremlin on Tuesday. He will also talk with Ivanov, Prime Minister Mikhail M. Kasyanov and the speakers of Russia’s two houses of parliament. Israeli officials say Sharon will be in Russia until Thursday.

Russia hopes to persuade Israel and the Palestinians to implement a blueprint for ending violence and resuming peace talks.