Le Pays De France - Israeli PM vows more Ukraine talks, even if prospects 'not great'

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met for three hours with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday, before flying to Berlin to meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Bennett, acting after Kyiv asked him to launch a dialogue with Moscow in the wake of Russia's invasion, has also held three phone calls in 24 hours with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Speaking before his weekly cabinet meeting, Bennett said he could "not expand further" on his talks, but that Israel would press on with its diplomatic efforts "as needed".

"Even if the chance is not great -- as soon as there is even a small opening, and we have access to all sides and the capability -- I see this as our moral obligation to make every effort," he said.

Bennett has so far walked a cautious line on the Ukraine conflict, seeking to preserve delicate security cooperation with Russia, which has a large military presence in Israel's northern neighbour, Syria.

Bennett has not joined Western leaders -- notably key ally the United States -- in forcefully condemning the Russian invasion, instead stressing Israel's strong relations with Moscow and Kyiv.

Israel said Bennett's trip was coordinated with Washington and major European powers, but Israeli media have reported that American officials have expressed doubts that Bennett can influence Putin's actions.

Bennett's sit-down with Putin was the first by a foreign leader since Russian forces invaded Ukraine on February 24.

They also discussed the fate of the Jews in Ukraine and Russia.

Israel's Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked said Sunday that Israel is preparing for an estimated 100,000 people from both countries to move to Israel, under laws that allow people with verifiable Jewish lineage to become Israeli citizens.

A group of 300 Ukrainian Jews were due to land Sunday.

Shaked also said that since the outbreak of the conflict, 2,034 Ukranian refugees had entered Israel, 90 percent of whom do not qualify for the "law of return" that applies to those with Jewish lineage.

- Iran deal -

Bennett and Putin also discussed ongoing talks in Vienna aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which Israel staunchly opposes.

On Saturday, Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog said they had agreed an approach for resolving issues crucial to restoring the nuclear pact, which was derailed after the US unilaterally withdrew in 2018 and then ramped up sanctions on Tehran.

Those issues centred on outstanding questions the International Atomic Energy Agency has about the past presence of nuclear material at undeclared sites in Iran.

Shortly before news of Bennett's Moscow trip emerged, Russia said it would seek guarantees from the US before it backs a renewed Iran deal, potentially scuppering hopes of an imminent agreement.

Russia is a party to the Iran talks but is itself heavily sanctioned over its invasion of Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia had requested that the US give it written guarantees that Ukraine-related sanctions "will not in any way harm our rights to free, fully-fledged trade and economic and investment cooperation, military-technical cooperation with Iran".

There has been no comment by Israel on a link between Bennett's Russia-Ukraine diplomacy and any efforts by the Jewish state to oppose a new Iran deal.

Speaking Sunday, Bennett praised IAEA chief Rafael Grossi for not agreeing "to close the open files" on Iran's past nuclear activity, as Tehran has demanded.

"The disadvantages of the (Iran nuclear) agreement far outweigh its advantages," Bennett said.

Nadav Eyal, a commentator in Israel's Yediot Ahronot newspaper, warned that Bennett had undertaken a "very high-stakes gamble", and that "if it emerges that Putin only used Bennett and deceived him", the Israeli premier could face "major political ridicule".

(P.Toussaint--LPdF)