Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for Israel to serve as a mediator for negotiations with the Kremlin amid neighboring Russia’s invasion, reports say.
Zelensky told reporters that Jerusalem could be an ideal location for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war and hinted that Moscow was amiable to the proposal, the Kyiv Independent reported.
“We talked to Mr. Bennett, and I told him that it was wrong and unconstructive to meet in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. These are not the points where we can find common ground and stop the war,” he said, per the outlet. “Do I think that Israel can be such a land and especially Jerusalem? I think so. And I told him that.”
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Zelensky emphasized the talks would involve direct negotiations between him and Putin, not just “technical meetings.” While withholding details, he noted that Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had communicated with Putin and stressed Ukrainian officials “take it positively.”
Russian forces have made some headway in their conquest, with the United Kingdom’s Defense Ministry sounding the alarms Saturday that Moscow’s ground forces have come within 15 miles of Kyiv’s center.
Earlier this week, Russia and Ukraine held a third round of talks, hoping to map out an end to the conflict. The negotiations took place near Ukraine’s border with Belarus but yielded no breakthroughs after four hours of deliberations.
A key sticking point has been Moscow’s demands for ending the war. Russia has demanded Ukraine to stop its military actions, pledge neutrality from NATO and the European Union, recognize Russian control over Crimea, and acknowledge the independence of the two republics in the Donbas region.
Putin said Friday, however, that some progress had been made in the Kremlin’s negotiations with Kyiv, though he did not elaborate.
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Bennett told Zelensky on Tuesday that Ukraine should accept Putin’s demands for ending the war, citing a senior Ukrainian official, according to a recent report from Axios. Since that reporting surfaced, Israeli officials have emailed reporters denying those claims.
Bennett met with Putin in Moscow on March 5 and held discussions about the situation in Ukraine. The country has cultivated somewhat friendly ties with both warring nations, which could make it an ideal mediator for the conflict. Israel voted for the United Nations resolution to condemn Russia for its actions but has shown restraint on sanctions.
