Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested on Saturday that future negotiations between his country and Russia could be held in Israel, Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel reported.
Speaking at a special briefing for reporters from Kyiv, under heavy guard, Zelensky said that he believed Israel could provide security guarantees for his country and that “Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett would have a positive influence on negotiations”, according to The Times of Israel.
⚡️Zelensky proposes meeting Putin in Jerusalem.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he asked Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to act as an intermediary.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 12, 2022
Zelensky reportedly added that Ukrainian immigrants were among Israel’s founders, “who brought with them their history and their desire to build a great country, as it is now. So it’s not bad at all for us to have such mediation.”
PM of 🇮🇱 @naftalibennett, just as other conditional intermediary countries, does NOT offer Ukraine to agree to any demands of the Russian Federation. This is impossible for military & political reasons. On the contrary, Israel urges Russia to assess the events more adequately.
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) March 12, 2022
On Friday, Walla news, the Jerusalem Post and US-based news site Axios had reported a top Ukrainian official as saying that Bennett had urged Ukraine to surrender to Russia.
On Saturday, however, Ukrainian adviser Mykhailo Podolyak denied the report, saying on Twitter that “this is impossible for military & political reasons”.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
