In February-March 2022, at the beginning of a full-scale invasion, Russia and Ukraine were ready to make serious concessions to resolve the conflict. But all this lost its meaning after the facts of the killing of civilians in Bucha became known, said former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
He is the first foreign leader that Russian President Vladimir Putin has met since February 24, he said. Their conversation took place on Saturday, March 5, 2022, in Sochi.
Bennett said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had approached him for mediation. The Israeli prime minister then held a series of separate talks with both leaders and handed over drafts of a possible ceasefire agreement. All actions were coordinated with the United States, Bennett said.
In addition, during the talks, Putin specifically agreed not to demand the disarmament of Ukraine. Zelenskiy has apparently agreed to drop demands for Ukraine to join NATO, Bennett claims.
We previously wrote that Europe does not plan to deploy fighter jets to Ukraine in the near future — Borrell.