Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Friday, February 25, 2022

Report: Zelensky asks Israel’s Bennett to play Ukraine-Russia mediator

25 February 2022, 7:44 pm 0 Edit

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett poses for a picture at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, on January 26, 2022; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the nation in Kyiv, Ukraine, on February 24, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90; Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky asked Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for Israel to serve as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine during their phone call last night, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

This is not the first time Zelensky has made such a request, but it is the first time he has done so since Russia began invading Ukraine early Thursday morning.

Israel is one of the few countries that holds relatively warm ties with both Russia and Ukraine.

“We want the negotiations to take place in Jerusalem,” Kan quotes Zelensky as having told Bennett, expressing home that he could help negotiate a ceasefire. “We think that Israel is the country that could hold such negotiations in the middle of the war.”

The Kan report, relying on sources familiar with the call, did not say what Bennett’s response was, and the Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment.