Moscow, April 19, SPA -- Russian President Vladimir Putin will travelnext week to Egypt and to Israel, where he will be the first Russian or Soviet leader to visit the Jewish state, the Kremlin said Tuesday. Putin will arrive in Egypt on April 26, and travel on toIsrael on April 27 for a two-day visit that will befollowed by talks with Palestinian leaders on April 29, astatement said. The Russian leader is expected to meet with Prime MinisterAriel Sharon, President Moshe Katsav and other seniorIsraeli officials for talks on advancing Middle East peacenegotiations, Israeli officials said last month. The Kremlin said that Putin was visiting the Palestinianterritories at the invitation of new Palestinian leaderMahmoud Abbas. Russia is a member of the so-called Quartet ofinternational mediators for the Middle East peacemaking,along with the United States, the United Nations and theEuropean Union. The Quartet sponsored the 2003 "road map"peace plan, a three-stage program for creating aPalestinian state. --SPA1410 Local Time 1110 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/255868