Israel Tries To Reconcile Russia-Ukraine Even If The Odds Are Slim, PM Bennett: When There Is A Small Gap, We Have Access To All Sides

JAKARTA - Israel will continue to seek to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, even if there is little chance of success, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said after speaking with President Vladimir Putin on Sunday.

Ukraine has asked Israel to act as an intermediary, citing the Government's good relations with Kyiv and Moscow. Prime Minister Bennett's office said he had spoken three times over the weekend with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

In a televised address to his cabinet, PM Bennett gave no details about the three-hour Kremlin meeting with President Putin on Saturday, only saying it had the "blessing and encouragement of all parties", a reference to the United States, among other powers.

"We will continue to help wherever this is asked, even if the odds aren't great," PM Bennett said.

"When there is a small gap, and we have access to all sides and capabilities, I see it as a moral obligation to make every effort."

The two leaders spoke again by telephone on Sunday, the Kremlin said, and discussed PM Bennett's "recent contacts with leaders of a number of countries".

In parallel, PM Bennett spoke with the leaders of Germany and France. Secretary of State Yair Lapid, meanwhile, is scheduled to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday in Riga, according to Israeli officials.

Israel has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, expressed solidarity with Kyiv, and sent humanitarian aid. However, PM Bennett has not complied with Ukraine's request for military assistance and has opened channels to Russia, with which Israel is coordinating its operations against Iran's deployment in Syria.

Regarding humanitarian aid, about 90 children from a Jewish orphanage in the Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr were flown from Romania to Tel Aviv on Sunday.

"I'm Naftali, prime minister of Israel," Bennett, who boarded the El Al plane after landing, told a boy, kissing his head before taking him off the plane.

On Twitter, PM Bennett said the group, accompanied by members of Chabad-Lubavitch, a worldwide Jewish religious movement, had been fleeing fighting and shooting for more than a week.

Separately, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked said Israel, with a population of 9.2 million, was preparing for a "very, very large" immigration wave as a result of the conflict.

This could mean taking more than 200.000 Ukrainians who are Jewish or have Jewish family ties and more than 600.000 Russians in the same category, he said.

An Israeli immigration official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, had a more modest estimate of the entry "in the tens of thousands" from Ukraine and Russia.

Local Israeli media said that in order to prevent Russian oligarchs from escaping to Israel to evade sanctions, the Israel Airports Authority said it had received instructions not to allow private jets to park for more than 24 hours.