Apart From Turkey, Israel Also Offers To Be The Location Of Russia-Ukraine Talks, President Zelensky: A Place To Find Peace

Presiden Zelensky. (Wikimedia Commons/The Presidential Administration of Ukraine/Mykhaylo Markiv), PM Bennett (Wikimedia Commons/Adi Cohen Zedek), Presiden Putin (Wikimedia Commons, Kremlin.ru) - (Kolase-VOI)

JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Israel was making a lot of efforts to organize top-level peace talks between his country and Russia that he considered possible in Jerusalem.

In his daily appeal to Ukraine following an online address to the Israeli Parliament, President Zelensky said Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had sought to act as an intermediary between Kyiv and Moscow.

"Of course, Israel has an interest, a strategy to protect its citizens. We understand everything," President Zelensky said.

"The Prime Minister of Israel, Mr Bennett is trying to find a way to hold talks. And we are grateful for this. We are grateful for his efforts, so sooner or later we will start having talks with Russia, maybe in Jerusalem."

"It's the right place to find peace. If possible," he said.

In the past week, PM Bennett has intensified his efforts to bring the two sides together, speaking several times with Presidents Zelensky and President Putin, including flying in secret last week to Moscow to meet the Kremlin Leader.

Previously, Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed their willingness to facilitate the meeting of President Putin and President Zelensky. Recently, President Erdogan referred to Ankara or Istanbul as the meeting location.

President Erdogan is also known to have communicated with the two presidents of the warring countries, to defuse tensions since the invasion took place on February 24.