Ukraine President's adviser welcomes Israel PM Bennett's Moscow visit; doubts its result

As Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett went to Moscow on Saturday to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to talk about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's adviser Vladislav Roitberg has said that he welcomed PM Bennett's Moscow visit but doubt that his visit will result in a diplomatic breakthrough.

Roitberg, at Radio 103FM, stated that they don't know why the trip was undertaken or whether it was political or electoral. He further said that they welcome diplomacy whether it comes from Israeli PM Naftali Bennett or Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or any other leader but only time will tell whether it succeeds or not. He also thanked all the Israelis who are supporting Ukraine in this situation.

Bennett's meeting with Putin lasted for three hours

PM Bennett had a meeting with President Putin for three hours where he talked about the conflict in Ukraine,  Putin met with a foreign leader for the first time since Russian troops entered Ukraine last week. Bennett discussed the plight of Israelis and Jewish communities as a result of the conflict with Putin, according to the Times of Israel. Bennett was accompanied by Housing Minister Ze'ev Elkin, who acted as a translator and counsellor. Bennett's spokesman Matan Sidi, as well as National Security Adviser Eyal Hulata, senior policy adviser Shimrit Meir, and Bennett's spokesman Eyal Hulata also flew with the Prime Minister.

Bennett speaks to Zelenskyy

The Prime Minister's Office stated that following his discussion with Putin, Bennet also spoke with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, it is not known what the two talked about. The Ukrainian president's spokesman, Sergey Nikiforov stated that it was unclear what, the meeting accomplished in terms of negotiating a cease-fire., according to Ynet news site.

Nikiforov claimed that Zelensky did not hear anything particularly fresh during Bennett's phone conversation with him. He further said that until they get a clear indication from Bennett or Putin on an agreement to a meeting with Zelenskyy, they can't assess the results of Prime Minister Bennett's mediation, according to Times of Israel. Bennett also went to Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz before returning to Israel.