President Putin must apologize for this comment of Foreign Minister Lavrov

A statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s office confirmed that the two leaders “discussed Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov’s comments” during a phone call on May 5, according to Algemeiner.

The Prime Minister (Bennett) accepted President Putin’s apology for Foreign Minister Lavrov’s comments and thanked the Russian President for clarifying the attitude towards the Jewish people,” said Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office. on May 5 said in a statement after a phone call between the leaders of the two countries.

Earlier, in an interview with Italian media on May 1, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Ukraine is being governed by neo-Nazis even though President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish.

“Why is there Nazism in Ukraine if he is a Jew? I could be wrong, but Adolf Hitler was also Jewish. Wise Jews say that the most ardent anti-Semitists are often the Jews,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov’s statement caused outrage in Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called the comment “unforgivable, one-sided and a terrible historical error”. Prime Minister Bennett denounced the comments as “lies”, “accusing the Jews themselves of the most terrible crimes in history” against themselves. Israel summoned the Russian ambassador to “clarify” the comments.

However, the Kremlin’s summary of the phone call between President Putin and Prime Minister Bennett on May 5, which took place at a time when Israel was celebrating the 74th anniversary of the founding of the Jewish state, did not mention the apology of the Israelis. Mr. Putin.

According to the Kremlin, the two leaders discussed the importance of the upcoming Victory Day celebrations for the people of both countries.

“The Russian president reiterated that of the 6 million Jews who were tortured in the ghettos and death camps and killed by the Nazis during the punitive operations, 40% were Soviet citizens,” the document said. Kremlin press office reported. “In turn, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett highlighted the decisive contribution of the Soviet Red Army to the victory over Nazism.”

Israel has been trying to maintain its neutrality since Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine in late February, when Prime Minister Bennett stressed Israel’s close ties with both Moscow and Kiev. However, Israel has provided bulletproof vests and helmets for medical staff, as well as a makeshift hospital – something the Kremlin is said to be displeased with.