Critical political summit and friction with prominent world leaders - This week is expected for the prime minister:
Naftali Bennett will take off tomorrow (Friday) for his first diplomatic visit to Russia and will meet in the resort city of Sochi with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
This is the first meeting of the two leaders and Bennett is scheduled to return to Israel before Shabbat.
In addition, on Sunday the Prime Minister will go to a climate conference in Scotland where he will meet with a host of leaders from around the world.
Biden and Bennett statements in the White House: "Iranian aggression must be stopped" // Photo: Video - Itai Beit-On - GPO, Sound: Ben Peretz - GPO
Bennett and Putin never met.
Therefore the main purpose of the meeting of the two is to get to know and build ways of communication and trust.
Russia and Israel have maintained close ties over the years, mainly regarding the coordination of military activities on the Syrian front.
In recent years, the Russian army has assisted the Assad regime in its fight against the civil war, while Israel, according to foreign publications, seeks to repel and thwart an Iranian establishment on the Golan Heights border.
It is not inconceivable that the Syrian issue and the Iranian establishment will come up in conversation.
By the way, as a lesson from the postponement of the meeting with President Joe Biden at the time due to the attack in Afghanistan, due to Putin being late, Bennett keeping Shabbat, and the possibility that the summit will be prolonged - the entourage prepares for a mishap and the possibility of staying in Sochi on Saturday.
The Glasgow climate conference in Scotland is scheduled to be attended by, among others, US President Joe Biden, Queen Elizabeth II of England, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Turkish President Erdogan is also expected to attend, French President Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and a host of other world leaders, including Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi who is expected to arrive despite requests to arrest him for the execution of opponents of the regime.
After a visit to the White House and a meeting with the President of the United States and the top of the US administration, Bennett received an honorary visit to Sharm el-Sheikh from our neighbor to the south of Egyptian President al-Sisi, and after the confidential visit to the Jordanian royal palace. .
Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi at the Bushhar nuclear facility, Photo: Reuters
Bennett received two more invitations this week.
One of the United Arab Emirates' heirs invited him on an official visit to a country that only a little over a year ago normalized relations between Abu Dhabi and Jerusalem under the Abrahamic agreements.
In addition, India's Foreign Minister, who visited Israel this week, sent Prime Minister Bennett an official invitation to a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.