Israel's Netanyahu Willing To Mediate Between Putin And Zelenskyy 'If Asked By All Relevant Parties' Including US

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would be willing to mediate between Russia and Ukraine if asked by the relevant parties.

What Happened: “If asked by all relevant parties, I’ll certainly consider it, but I'm not pushing myself in,” Netanyahu told CNN in an interview on Tuesday. 

The newly-sworn in PM of Israel said his close ally, the U.S., would also need to ask because “you can’t have too many cooks in the kitchen.”

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Netanyahu added that he was asked to be a mediator shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year but had to decline it because he was Israel's opposition leader at the time, not the prime minister. 

“I have a rule: one prime minister at a time,” Netanyahu said. He, however, did not reveal details of who asked him to mediate but said the request was “unofficial.”

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Meanwhile, Ukraine had reached out to Netanyahu's predecessor, Naftali Bennett, to mediate the war. However, Bennett was unable to broker a peace deal after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in March. 

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