Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett He traveled to Moscow this Saturday and met with the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin., in an attempt to mediate the end of the armed conflict following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This was reported by the spokesman for the Russian Presidency, Dmitri Peskov.
“The prime minister took off for Moscow early this morning, following talks with the leaders last Wednesday,” the Israeli government confirmed in a terse statement.
“They are discussing the situation around Ukraine”Peskov told the press, according to the news agency Sputnik. Shortly following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, Bennett had offered his country as a mediator between Moscow and Kiev.
The Israeli president held long telephone conversations on Wednesday with both the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenskyas later with Putin, in which he offered himself as a mediator to end the war by virtue of the good direct relationship that Israel maintains with both countries.
Zelensky himself indicated that he trusted Israel’s mediating role and even proposed a summit in Jerusalem, although Putin seems to have rejected that option by opting for talks in Belarus.
The official government statement does not mention Ukraine or the Russian invasion, in line with the measured tone and low profile that Israel has maintained on the conflict, so as not to damage its strategic relationship with Russia, although it maintains its alliance with the powers Western countries and the United States and has defended the “territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine”.
Israel maintains close coordination with Russia since the beginning of hostilities in Syria to bomb positions of pro-Iranian forces that have been maintained these days since the start of the war in Ukraine, something that for the Jewish State is a priority on its foreign agenda.
Benett insisted that Israel’s position is “measured and responsible”, since it is one of the few countries in the world that maintains a good relationship and direct communication with both Russia and Ukraine.
In addition, some 1.2 million Jews from the former USSR live in Israel, most of them from Russia and Ukraine; countries where there are also important Jewish communities that the Israeli government did not want to harm by taking a clear position once morest the invasion.
The Israeli prime minister, an Orthodox Jew, made the unusual decision to travel in the midst of Shabbat, the weekly Jewish holiday when political activity in Israel comes to a standstill.
Along with Benett, the Minister of Construction and Housing, Zeev Elkin, born in Ukraine and Russian-speaking, traveled, who acted as a translator in the meeting that lasted regarding two and a half hours, according to Hebrew media. The Prime Minister was also accompanied by his National Security Adviser, Eyal Hulata; his diplomatic adviser, Shimrit Meir; and his spokesperson, Matan Sidi.
