July 6, 2006

The Honorable Sergey Lavrov
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
32/34 Smolenskaya-Sennaya Square
Moscow, Russia 121200

Dear Minister Lavrov:

 On behalf of the American Jewish Committee delegation that had the privilege-and pleasure-of meeting with you in Moscow last month, permit me to express our collective appreciation for the warm reception and welcome opportunity to exchange views on issues of mutual concern.

 We attach considerable importance to our dialogue with you, and appreciate the fact that you have made yourself accessible to us both in Moscow and New York. In that spirit, I wish to reaffirm our invitation to host you for a meal function during your expected visit to New York in September for the opening of the next UN General Assembly session. I understand you will have a demanding schedule during that period, but we hope that we will have the opportunity to introduce you to key figures who would attend such an event. From our perspective, there can be no higher priority than widening and deepening the points of contact between the Russian Federation and the United States, and we seek to play a constructive role in that regard.

 Since we met, the new UN Human Rights Council has convened in Geneva. I must share with you our concern that, despite promises of reform, the Council has reverted to past practices in respect to Israel, both in its vote last Friday and again today. While Israel faces a daily barrage of Qassam missiles, an arms build-up in Gaza, and planned terrorist attacks, the Council's deliberations appear focused solely on alleged Israeli misdeeds. Knowing that your nation understands better than most the dangers posed by terrorism, and maintains a strong bilateral link with Israel, the Russian decision to vote with Israel's detractors came as a serious disappointment to us. Judging from the comments offered by one senior U.S. senator sympathetic to the Russian-American relationship, it only makes his task-and ours-more difficult.

As the G-8 Summit in St. Petersburg approaches, I can only wish for a successful gathering. All of us will be watching closely and hoping for the maximum degree of unity among the participating nations on the pressing issues-from Iran to energy security-that will shape the course of global events in the years ahead.

 With kindest personal regards and the hope of seeing you in New York in September, I remain,
    
                Respectfully,

                David A. Harris