INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Israel's premier stepped into the role of mediator Saturday as Russia's invasion of Ukraine intensified, holding a three-hour meeting at the
was the first by foreign leader since the day Russian forces invaded Ukraine last week, and came after Kyiv had asked Israel to launch a
Much will depend on Putin's state of mind," Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to Washington, told AFP.Oren noted that while Putin
rebuffed heavyweight diplomatic outreaches before the invasion, "Russia is in a different position today and Putin may be looking for a way
Naftali Bennet just may supply the ladder."Travel on ShabbatBennett's office said he left Israel for Moscow early Saturday, itself an
extraordinary move for a religious Jew who does not conduct state business on the Jewish sabbath, except in extraordinary
said.Bennett's delegation included his housing minister, fluent Russian speaker Zeev Elkin, who was born in Ukraine when it was part of the
Chancellor Olaf Scholz.The French presidency said Emmanuel Macron also spoke to Bennett before he left for Moscow on Saturday, as part of
joint efforts to "obtain a ceasefire in Ukraine."The top editor at the Times of Israel, David Horovitz, said Bennett's trip had
Israeli reporter Barak Ravid tweeted that the White House told Israel it doubted "Bennett's chances to influence Putin's position."IranThe
International Atomic Energy Agency said earlier Saturday after talks in Tehran that they agreed on an approach to resolve issues crucial in
efforts to revive the country's 2015 nuclear deal.Bennett is a staunch opponent of global efforts to revive the agreement which gave Iran
lifting of sanctions to buy weapons that can harm Israel, while still pursuing a nuclear weapons capability, an ambition Iran
guarantees from Washington before backing any revived agreement, complicating efforts for a rapid deal.Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said
Russia had requested that the U.S
give it written guarantees that Ukraine-related sanctions "will not in any way harm our rights to free, fully-fledged trade and economic and
investment cooperation, military-technical cooperation with Iran."There was no immediate comment on any link between the new Russian
