Report: Israel Believes Ukraine Talks at Critical Juncture — Ceasefire or Catastrophe

Israel believes Russia and Ukraine are at a critical juncture and pending a possible ceasefire, but if talks fail, the Russian invasion of Ukraine could become far more brutal, the Axios news site reported Wednesday citing government officials.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has been acting as mediator between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking with each leader multiple times since the weekend and even making a lightning trip to Moscow to meet with the Russian president on Saturday.

According to Israeli officials, Putin is has softened his stance and is no longer demanding a regime change in Ukraine and its demilitarization. The Russian president is now willing to pull out his troops if only the eastern Donbas region is demilitarized. Putin has also demanded that Ukraine recognize Crimea as Russian. Meanwhile Zelensky has told ABC News that he has “cooled down” regarding plans to join NATO.

However, senior Israeli officials cited both by Axios and the Hebrew-language Maarive newspaper said the situation could drastically deteroriate if Zelensky refuses to give in to Russia’s ceasefire terms, triggering a far more calamitous conflict in the coming weeks.

Israel, which will not advise Zelensky to choose either way, maintains that Putin is determined to ratchet up some kind of victory and that any refusal of his terms by Ukraine will compel him to double down on the attack front.

Israel is one of few Western democracies that is an ally of both Russia and Ukraine and has been cautious about taking sides since Moscow’s invasion. Russia also has heavy military presence in Syria and controls its skies and as such, Jerusalem coordinates all military strikes on Iranian targets in Syria with Moscow.

While Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid condemned Russia’s invasion as a “breach of the international order,” the country has stopped short of offering military assistance or directly condemning Russia.

More than 1.5 million Israeli citizens are from Russia. In addition, both Ukraine and Russia have large Jewish communities, and Israel sees itself as a protector of Jews in the Diaspora.

However, on Monday Lapid said Israel would continue to condemn Russia.

“Israel is totally committed to do everything possible to stop the war in Ukraine,” said Lapid on Monday. “We have condemned the Russian invasion, and we still do.  And Israel is a partner in the global effort to make sure and verify that this war must be stopped.

“The way to stop a war is to negotiate. Israel is speaking with both sides, both with Russia and Ukraine, and we are working in full coordination with our greatest ally, the United States, and our European partners.”