A senior official in the Office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that the belief is that Russia is now ready for a compromise that will bring an end to the war it has declared.
Speaking to Kan 11 News, the senior official said that in the opinion of the Ukrainians, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is a suitable mediator: "He is pressuring the Russians to understand the situation."
He added that there has been no pressure from Bennett on Ukraine to accept Russian President Vladimir Putin's ultimatum: "He, too, knows it will not happen. Russia's original demands are impossible."
The senior official noted that Ukraine understands the Israeli maneuvering between the sides, saying, "We would have been satisfied with more sanctions and support from Israel, but we are not delusional and we understand the situation."
On Friday, it was reported that Bennett had pushed Zelenskyy to take Putin’s proposal for ending the war. An official in the Prime Minister’s Office denied the claim.
On Saturday, an aide to Zelenskyy also rejected the reports that Bennett had pushed the Ukrainians to accept Putin's terms, saying that "agreeing to them is impossible."
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy suggested on Saturday that the talks between his country and Russia could be held in Jerusalem, saying, “at present it's not constructive to hold meetings in Russia, Ukraine, or Belarus. These are not the places where we can agree to stop the war... Do I consider Israel, Jerusalem in particular, to be such a place? I think the answer is yes."
A senior diplomatic source later told JPost that Russia has been open to holding negotiations with Ukraine in Jerusalem.