Ukraine War: De-escalation Efforts
Efforts to end the Ukraine war continue. After Israel’s Prime Minister Bennett was with the Russian President, the heads of government of France and Turkey also spoke to Putin.
Diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the Ukraine conflict continued at the weekend with a visit by the Israeli head of government, Naftali Bennett, to Moscow and several crisis phone calls. After a meeting with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, Bennett traveled to Berlin, where he briefed Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on the results of his trip to Moscow stay in touch – the common goal remains to end the war in Ukraine as quickly as possible”.
“Maybe there is still time to act”
Bennett surprisingly traveled to Moscow as an intermediary on Saturday. Even if the prospect of success is slim, he sees his mission as a “moral obligation,” he said today at his cabinet’s weekly meeting. As long as there is still hope and “we have access to all sides”, he wants to try everything. “Perhaps there is still time to act.” Government circles in Jerusalem said the talks between Putin and Bennett in the Russian capital lasted three hours. Bennett has coordinated with the US, Germany and France and is “in constant communication with Ukraine”. According to sources in Jerusalem, Bennett also called Volodymyr Zelenskyy after meeting Putin. Details of Bennett’s talks were not initially known. According to media reports, a few days ago Selenskyj asked Bennett to arrange negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Israel. Israel has good relations with both countries, so it is in a dilemma. It does not want to upset its main ally, the United States, but at the same time depends on Moscow’s goodwill for strategic reasons, including in the conflicts with Syria and Iran.
Erdogan calls for a ceasefire
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan renewed his call for a ceasefire during a nearly hour-long phone call with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin today. Erdogan has stressed that Turkey is ready to contribute to the peaceful solution of the conflict, the presidential office said. Urgent steps must be taken for a ceasefire, for the opening of humanitarian corridors and for the signing of a peace agreement. The Kremlin then declared that “suspension of the special operation (in Ukraine) is only possible if Kyiv ceases hostilities and the known Conditions of Russia fulfilled”. The Kremlin hopes that Ukraine will “show a more constructive approach and take into account the realities that are emerging” in the next round of negotiations. Erdogan had repeatedly offered to mediate between Russia and Ukraine.
Concern about impending attack on Odessa
France’s head of state Emmanuel Macron also spoke to Putin again today. The conversation lasted an hour and 45 minutes and went back to Macron’s initiative, as the Elysée Palace announced. During the conversation, Macron called on his Russian counterpart to stop his military operations in Ukraine and expressed concern about a possible imminent attack on the port city of Odessa Nuclear plants in the country would have to be protected. After Russian troops took over the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia, a fire broke out on the site, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior in a training complex building. The incident had caused great international concern. According to a statement from the Kremlin, the Russian President blamed “Ukrainian radicals” for the fire on the site of the nuclear power plant in the telephone conversation with Macron. Ukraine is also to blame for the repeated failure to evacuate Mariupol. According to the Kremlin, Ukraine is not sticking to the agreed ceasefire. The port city in south-eastern Ukraine is currently under siege from Russia.
