Natalia Zinets & Dan Williams

LVIV/JERUSALEM, Ukraine (Reuters) – Ukraine said Saturday that it was hopeful for positive results in Israel’s efforts to broker peace with Russia. The statement contradicted a media report which suggested Naftali Bennett, Israeli Prime Minister, tried to push Kyiv towards Moscow’s demands.

Bennett attended a three-hour Kremlin conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, at Ukraine’s request. Officials claim that he has spoken with Putin twice by telephone and with Volodymyr Zelenskiy four times since then.

In a briefing, Zelenskiy stated that Bennett can be an important player because Israel has a lot history, parallels, as well as a large influx of Jews from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

A senior Ukrainian diplomat denied an earlier report that was carried Saturday by Israel’s Walla, the Jerusalem Post and U.S. News site Axios. It suggested, citing unidentified Ukrainian officials, that Bennett had advised Ukraine to submit to Russia.

Mykhailo Polyak, the advisor, tweeted that Israel does not offer Ukraine the opportunity to comply with any Russian Federation demands, just as it has done for other intermediary states. “This is impossible for military & political reasons. Israel, on the other hand, urges Russia not to ignore the facts.

An Israeli senior official who asked anonymity because of the sensitive subject matter called the report “patently falsified”.

The official stated that Bennett did not advise President Zelenskiy at any point to make a deal with Putin. This was because there had never been a similar deal offered to Israel.

TALKS IN JERUSALEM

Moscow did not comment on Bennett’s mediation attempts. According to its terms, Ukraine will recognize Crimea and Russian-backed independent areas as Russian. Kyiv declares it won’t cede any territories.

According to Reuters, a senior official who was briefed about the mediation said that the situation could be one in which the conflicting countries would “put it (the recognition question) aside, maybe for 10 or fifteen years.”

An example of possible precedent was the Soviet-Japanese 1956 peace pact that still left the status quo of disputed island unresolved. The official did not say if his remarks were indicative of wider Moscow or Kyiv thinking.

Zelenskiy indicated that he is open to peace negotiations in Jerusalem. He also anticipated Israel providing security guarantees for Ukraine.

“I told (Bennett), that currently it is not constructive to host meetings in Russia and Ukraine or Belarus. These aren’t the areas where the leaders of the affected countries can come together to end the war… Would I consider Israel and Jerusalem to be such an area? The answer to that question is “Yes.”

Bennett’s high-wire act was the crisis diplomacy coordinated with France, Germany and the United States.

His foreign minister has been given the task of condemning Russia’s invasion of Israel. According to another official, this was done to make sure Putin is still available to be the Israeli prime minster.

Russia has a single man who controls all of its power. It is very personal. “Israel has maintained relations with Russia via leader-to–leader contacts. That requires us to avoid soundbites which might provoke ill will,” said the official.

Simona Halperin spoke out on Thursday about the effort that Putin and Zelenskiy put into speaking with – and through- Bennett. She said this in an interview to the radio.