Israeli Leader Meets with Putin

“Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday as the crisis in Ukraine deepened,” the Washington Post reports.

“The country has walked a diplomatic tightrope in its response to the war. Israeli officials have voiced support for Ukraine, whose president — Volodymyr Zelensky — is the only other Jewish head of state in the world. They have called Ukraine a liberal democratic ally.”

“But mindful that Russia backs the Syrian regime on Israel’s northern border, Israel is concerned about provoking Moscow. Russia has also unofficially permitted Israel to carry out strikes targeting weapons transfers to Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Shiite group in Lebanon.”

New York Times: “Israel is in a unique position to potentially barter a deal, or at least pass messages between Western allies, Russia and Ukraine, given its alliance with the United States, its quiet cooperation with Russia in Syria and is shared cultural ties to Ukraine.”