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Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett
Photo: POOL / REUTERS
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has traveled to Russia for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Bennett is staying in Moscow for a short working visit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday evening, according to the Interfax agency.
"The situation around Ukraine is being discussed."
Israel is being discussed as a mediator in the Ukraine conflict.
According to media reports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj asked Bennett a week ago to organize negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in Israel.
Israel has good relations with both countries, but also finds itself in a conflict.
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.
The usually well-informed Israeli investigative journalist Barak Ravid reports on Twitter that Joe Biden's US government had been informed in advance about the Moscow trip.
Bennett will also be accompanied by Ze'ev Elkin, a minister from his government who speaks fluent Russian and was born in Ukraine, where part of his family still lives.
hey/dop/dpa