White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday commented on international attempts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, including those of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
“I would say that we very much support all the diplomatic engagements, our European partners of the Prime Minister of Israel, or that other leaders of the world are having, whether it’s with President Putin, as long as they’re also engaging with Ukrainian leadership, which we continue to encourage them to do,” Psaki told reporters.
“We also engage with them before and after all of these conversations,” she added.
Psaki’s comments followed a meeting between Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during which Blinken told Lapid that the Biden Administration greatly appreciates Israel's efforts to mediate an end to the Ukraine war.
Lapid told Blinken that “Israel is totally committed to doing everything possible to stop the war in Ukraine. We have condemned the Russian invasion and we still do. And Israel is a partner in the global effort to make sure and clarify that this war must be stopped.”
“The way to stop a war is to negotiate. Israel is speaking with both sides, both with Russia and Ukraine, and we are working in full coordination with our greatest ally, the United States, and with our European partners,” he added.
On Saturday, 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. He 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.