Ramallah, West Bank, April 29, SPA -- Russian President VladimirPutin laid a wreath on the late-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's tomb Friday and held talks with Arafat's successor, Mahmoud Abbas. Putin was greeted at the Palestinian headquarters, knownas the muqaata, by an honor guard of Palestinian securityforces. Putin, the first Kremlin leader to visit the region,arrived with a plan to sell 50 armored personnel carriersand two helicopters to the Palestinians to replace vehiclesdestroyed during more than 4 1/2 years ofIsraeli-Palestinian conflict. "I think I can say the choppers are a done deal, butabout the vehicles, we still don't have a clear-cut answerfrom the Israelis," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekatsaid. The helicopters would be used to transport Abbas. Israeldestroyed the Palestinian Authority's presidentialhelicopters as part of its campaign to limit the movementof the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who isaccompanying Putin, said Thursday that the two sides woulddiscuss how Russia could assist the Palestinians with theirsecurity. But when asked if Israel wouldn't be upset by thesale of armored personnel carriers, he replied, "This isan offer not so much for Israel, but for the Palestinians."--SPA1252 Local Time 0952 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/258699