(Communicated by the Office of the President)

President Peres received this morning (Wednesday, 7 November 2012), an Honorary Professorship from the Russian Academy of Science. During the ceremony President Peres delivered a foreign policy speech in which he referred to the elections in the United States and the changes in the Middle East:

"We all followed the American elections closely as they have an impact on the entire world, on the Middle East and on Israel. I have met President Obama on many occasions and I have the utmost respect for him. President Obama has proven his commitment to the security of the state of Israel and everything that he has promised, he has also delivered. There are countries in the world that have a nuclear weapon but those countries have the safety clearly on. In Iran there is no safety on the trigger! I believe that President Obama will do everything that he has promised on this matter, I am convinced of it, I have no doubt. It is clear that the Obama administration, like all of us, prefers to solve this issue with diplomatic and economic pressure but he is also preparing all the other options."

Upon receiving the professorship President Peres said jokingly, "I am the first person who barely finished high school and holds the title of professor." President Peres continued, "The award is for the State of Israel which I represent and whose people sent me here. I came to thank the Russian people on behalf of the Jewish people and the State of Israel for their vital part in the victory over Nazi Germany during the Second World War. During my meeting tomorrow with President Putin I will pass on that thanks and discuss with the president further strengthening the strategic relations between Israel and Russia. We will also discuss the major issues of the day; first and foremost preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and developments in the region."

Tomorrow President Peres, who is on a state visit to Moscow, will inaugurate the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center and will hold a working meeting in the Kremlin with the President of the Russian Federation, President Putin. At the end of the meeting the two presidents will deliver joint statements.

The Russian Academy of Science awarded President Peres the honorary professorship, a title that has been awarded to an exclusive number of statesman and leaders for their contribution to the world. The Russian Academy of Science is the highest government body for science and research whose aim is to contribute to development in the fields of technology, economy, social issues and culture. It is the highest body in Russia for research in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, nanotechnology and computer science. The academy has approximately 470 research bodies, 55,000 researchers, 130,000 scientists and 90,000 engineers. Members of the academy, both past and present, include dozens of Nobel Prize winners and over a thousand winners of prestigious prizes in science both in Russia and across the world.