Netanyahu Downplays Prospects of Mediating Between Russia and Ukraine

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has discussed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the possibility of mediating between Kiev and Moscow, according to The Times of Israel, citing official sources, on Tuesday.

However, it did not appear that the prospect was imminent, if it would come to pass at all.

“For anyone to become a mediator, you need three parties — Russia, Ukraine and the mediator,” PM Netanyahu said in response to a question from ToI. “It takes three to tango. And I don’t think we have the three at this point.”

Netanyahu would not confirm or deny whether Zelensky or the Trump administration had asked him to play such a role in the future.

At present, tensions between Russia and the Ukraine remain high and they are currently not engaged in serious peace talks, the officials added, speaking on condition of anonymity.

On Tuesday, the second and concluding day of the visit, Netanyahu met with members of the Kiev Jewish community, during which he stressed the importance of faith to Jewish survival.

After the event, which was attended by several Rabbis and other dignitaries from across the country, Netanyahu was introduced to a 70-year-old man from Kiev named Felix, who had undergone bris milah earlier in the day and adopted the Jewish name Yonatan, in honor of the prime minister’s late brother, who was killed in the Entebbe operation in Uganda in July 1976.