During his meetings with Russian officials, Rabin asked them to use their ties with Iran to try to elicit information from Tehran on the fate of Israeli POWs.

On Wednesday of last week, Rabin paid a state visit to Ukraine. It was the first visit there by a Jewish leader since the fall of the Soviet Union.

During his visit, Israel and Ukraine signed an agreement on military cooperation, as well as separate agreements on agriculture, trade and customs.

Rabin reportedly told Ukrainian officials that Israeli aid to the country would be conditioned on Ukraine's halting its nuclear ties to Iran.

While in Ukraine, Rabin visited Babi Yar, where an estimated 34,000 Jews were killed by the Nazis and non-Jewish Ukrainians in September 1941.