MOSCOW (JTA) — Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni asked the Russian government to review its policy on pensions for Russian immigrants to Israel.
Livni’s request came Sunday during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Sharm el-Sheik during a gathering of the Mideast Quartet, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Russian-speaking members of the Kadima Party, which Livni leads, are among those who’ve said that welfare benefits offered by Israel to some 36,000 Russian olim are not enough to live on.
Marina Solodkin, a Russian-speaking Knesset member from Kadima, said the issue needed the focus of ministers in the highest levels of both governments, including foreign ministers and prime ministers.
"For this issue to be raised at such a high level is a major breakthrough," Solodkin told the Jerusalem Post.
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