Putin and Bennett
Putin and BennettKobi Gideon/GPO:

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and congratulated him on the occasion of Israel's 74th Independence Day.

It was reported that the two expressed hope for the continuation of friendly relations and also discussed the war in Ukraine.

The conversation took place against the background of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's remarks that "Hitler had Jewish blood" in defending Russia's accusations that its war in Ukraine is an attempt to rid the country of neo-Nazis According to the Prime Minister's office, Putin apologized to Bennett for Lavrov's remarks, which angered Israel.

Bennett accepted President Putin's apology for Lavrov's remarks and thanked him for clarifying the President's attitude toward the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust.

The Prime Minister thanked the President for his congratulations on the occasion of the 74th Independence Day of the State of Israel.

The Prime Minister presented the President with a humanitarian request to examine various options for evacuating civilians from Azovsta in Mariupol. The request came following his conversation with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, yesterday.

President Putin has promised to allow the evacuation of civilians, including wounded civilians, through a UN humanitarian corridor and the Red Cross.

Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kolba spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, congratulating him on Israel's Independence Day. Kolba thanked Lapid for his humanitarian aid and Israeli support for Ukraine at last month's UN General Assembly.

Kolba further told Lapid that "antisemitism has long-standing traces among the Russian elites. Sergei Lavrov must publicly apologize to all the Jews of the world. Antisemitism cannot be tolerated."