?Israel Wants To Push Russia, Ukraine To Talks

Israel maintains good relations with both countries. It has condemned Russia's invasion and sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but the same time has avoided taking a stance that might anger Moscow.

Updated on: 3 March 2022 11:09 am

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett

Israel's prime minister is calling on world leaders to get Russia and Ukraine “out of the battlefield and to the negotiating table” after a week of fighting.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke in English on Thursday at a cyber tech conference in Tel Aviv, less than a day after he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Israel maintains good relations with both countries. It has condemned Russia's invasion and sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but the same time has avoided taking a stance that might anger Moscow. Russia and Israel cooperate on military operations in Syria.

Bennett said of the situation in Ukraine that “things are looking bad on the ground right now, but it's important to understand that if world leaders don't act quickly it can get much worse.”