Danny Danon
Danny DanonOren Cohen

World Likud chairman and former Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, spoke to Radio 103FM on Sunday about Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s attempts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.

"Bennett cannot convince them and tell them what is good for them. All this excessive chatter is unnecessary. If something good comes out of it we will all welcome it, but we should not be coming out with huge headlines. It can put us in a place where people will be angry at us," Danon said.

"The West sees our rapprochement with Putin and raises an eyebrow. The Americans see this as black and white, and the Russians are [viewed as] the bad guys. We must make sure that we are not perceived as giving legitimacy to Putin's actions," he added.

Danon’s comments come a day after Bennett made a surprise visit to Moscow, where he met Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the crisis in Ukraine.

From Moscow, Bennett flew to Berlin where he met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz before returning to Israel. Bennett also spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky several times on Saturday.

On Sunday, Bennett spoke on the telephone with Zelensky, for the third time in the last 24 hours. Later in the day, Bennett held another telephone conversation with Putin.

The Prime Minister also spoke of his visit to Moscow at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday.

"I returned from Moscow and Berlin a few hours ago. I went there to assist the dialogue between all of the sides, of course with the blessing and encouragement of all players," Bennett said.

"As you all know, the situation on the ground is not good. The human suffering is great and is liable to be much greater. There are also Israelis who need to return home and Jewish communities in distress that need help," he added.

"Naturally, I cannot expand further. We will continue to assist as requested," he stated.