Zelenskyy voices hope, says he's open for talks with Putin in Israel

Ukraine voiced hope for positive results from Israel’s bid to broker peace with Russia, denying a media report that suggested Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had tried to nudge Kyiv into caving to Moscow’s demands. 

Bennett, acting at Ukraine’s behest, held a three-hour Kremlin meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Saturday. He has since spoken twice with Putin by phone and four times with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (pictured), officials say.

“I believe (Bennett) can play an important role, because Israel is a country with a lot of history and parallels, as well as having a large migration of Jews from Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus,” Zelenskyy said. Earlier on Saturday, a top Ukrainian adviser denied a report that had suggested that Bennett had urged Ukraine to give in.