Russia-Ukraine war: Zelenskyy proposes meeting Putin in Jerusalem

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked Israeli PM Naftali Bennett to act as an intermediary in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

New Delhi: Amid war with Russia, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday (March 12) proposed meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Israel’s Jerusalem, ANI cited The Kyiv Independent. 

Zelenskyy has also asked Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to act as an intermediary, The Kyiv Independent reported.

"I said to (Bennett) that at present it`s not constructive to hold meetings in Russia, Ukraine, or Belarus. These are not the places where we (the leaders of the involved countries) can agree to stop the war... Do I consider Israel, Jerusalem in particular, to be such a place? I think the answer is yes,” Reuters quoted Zelenskyy as saying. 

Taking on the role of a mediator, Bennett had held a three-hour Kremlin meeting with Russian President Putin last Saturday, on Ukraine’s behest. As per an official, the Israeli PM has since spoken twice with Putin by phone and four times with Zelenskyy, Reuters reported. 

Moreover, a top Ukrainian adviser has denied a media report, citing an unidentified Ukrainian official, claiming that Bennett had urged Ukraine to cave to Russia. Israel, "just as other conditional intermediary countries, does NOT offer Ukraine to agree to any demands of the Russian Federation," the adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak said in a tweet.

"This is impossible for military & political reasons. On the contrary, Israel urges Russia to assess the events more adequately," he added. 

Ukraine's foreign affairs minister Dmytro Kuleba asserted today that they were ready to negotiate to end the war but would not surrender or accept any ultimatums. 

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said that around 1,300 Ukrainian troops have been killed since the Russian invasion on February 24, AFP news agency reported.  

On Friday, Ukraine's President had accused Russia of kidnapping the mayor of the city of Melitopol and urged the leaders of France and Germany to help secure his release. Russian forces had captured Melitopol, with a population of 150,000, on February 26.

(With agency inputs)