Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on his Twitter account on Wednesday that he had spoken with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and congratulated him on the occasion of Israel’s Independence Day.
“Held fruitful negotiations with the Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Congratulated him and the people of Israel on Independence Day! Have informed him about countering the aggressor and about the critical situation in Mariupol,” he tweeted.
Zelenskyy also published a video address in which he said he had spoken to Bennett about the "scandalous and completely unacceptable remarks" by Russia's Foreign Minister about Hitler.
The Ukrainian President said the comments by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had outraged the entire world.
Lavrov caused an uproar after saying on Sunday that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had Jewish blood.
In an interview with an Italian news channel, Lavrov referred to the fact that Zelenskyy is Jewish and said, “In my opinion, Hitler also had Jewish origins, so it doesn’t mean absolutely anything. For some time we have heard from the Jewish people that the biggest antisemites were Jewish.”
On Monday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced that it had summoned Russian Ambassador Anatoly Viktorov for “clarification” in response to Lavrov’s comments.
Later in the day, Zelenskyy responded to Lavrov and said that his comments show that Moscow "has forgotten all the lessons of World War II or perhaps never learned them."
Wednesday’s conversation between Bennett and Zelenskyy is the latest in a series of conversations they have had. Near the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Bennett tried to mediate between Ukraine and Russia.
In early March, Bennett made a surprise visit to Moscow, where he met Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. Following that visit, Bennett and Zelenskyy held several phone calls.
Subsequent reports indicated that Bennett was the primary international mediator in talks between Russia and Ukraine.
Zelenskyy addressed the Knesset in late March, where he appeared to be critical of its response, or lack thereof as he viewed it, to the Russian invasion of his country.
Senior government ministers later criticized Zelenskyy’s speech, claiming that he belittled the memory of the Holocaust with his words.
The Ukrainian President then softened his tone and clarified that his country was grateful for Bennett’s mediation efforts.