Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Saturday called on Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Bennett also spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over a telephone call later in the day. The visit comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Feb 25 plea to the Israeli Prime Minister to mediate peace between Ukraine and Russia.
Israeli Prime Minister offered his country’s intermediary services on Ukraine to Putin. “Naftali Bennett offered Israel’s intermediary services to suspend military actions,” the Kremlin said. As per a statement by the Israeli PM’s office, Bennett also discussed the safety of the Jewish population of Ukraine during the three-hour-long meeting. Notably, Ukraine is home to a significant Jewish population. According to some estimates, around 3,00,000 Jews live in Ukraine.
According to Israeli media reports, earlier on Wednesday, Putin and Bennett discussed the “special military operation” in the Donbas region. The Russian President’s official handle had tweeted, “Vladimir Putin discussed the special military operation to protect Donbas with Prime Minister of Israel Naftali Bennett.”
