On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he accepted an apology from Russian President Vladimir Putin over controversial Holocaust statements made by Moscow’s top ambassador.
The two presidents spoke on the phone, and according to an Israeli statement, Putin apologized. However, there was no mention of an apology in the Russian statement about the conversation. Instead, they underlined the significance of commemorating the Nazi defeat in World War II, which Russia will do on Monday.
Shortly after Moscow’s incursion, Bennett emerged as a prospective mediator between Russia and Ukraine. However, that position was called into question last week when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made Holocaust-related remarks that were extremely upsetting to Jews.