Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Jewish delegates on Tuesday. Photo: Wiki Commons.

JNS.org – Russian President Vladimir Putin met with delegates from the World Jewish Congress (WJC) and the Russian Jewish Congress at the Kremlin on Tuesday to discuss Jewish life in Russia.

“The World Jewish Congress is a very well-known and influential international non-governmental organization. As far as I know, the organization has existed for 80 years now and you do a lot to provide religious and secular support to Jews all around the world,” Putin said.

Putin also mentioned Russia’s close contacts with Russian Jewish and European Jewish organizations.

“Russia’s Jewish organizations make a big contribution to our internal stabilization, and we are very grateful to our friends for this,” he said.

WJC President Ronald S. Lauder praised Putin and Russia for their support of the Jewish community, while WJC CEO Robert Singer said the meeting with Putin was “outstanding.”

“Russian Jewry has always had a significant role in international Jewish organizations, and the World Jewish Congress is no exception to that. We look forward to many more years of positive Jewish life in Russia and to maintaining good relations with its government,” said Singer.