Authored by Dave DeCamp by way of AntiWar.com,

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett stated in an interview posted to his YouTube channel on Saturday that the US and its Western allies “blocked” his efforts of mediating between Russia and Ukraine to deliver an finish to the warfare in its early days.

On March 4, 2022, Bennett traveled to Russia to satisfy with President Vladimir Putin. Within the interview, he detailed his mediation on the time between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which he stated he coordinated with the US, France, Germany, and the UK.

Bennett stated that either side agreed to main concessions throughout his mediation effort. For the Russian aspect, he stated they dropped “denazification” as a requirement for a ceasefire. Bennett outlined “denazification” because the elimination of Zelensky. Throughout his assembly in Moscow with Putin, Bennett stated the Russian chief assured that he wouldn’t attempt to kill Zelensky.

The opposite concession Russia made, based on Bennett, is that it wouldn’t search the disarmament of Ukraine. For the Ukrainian aspect, Zelensky “renounced” that he would search NATO membership, which Bennett stated was the “cause” for Russia’s invasion.

Experiences on the time replicate Bennet’s feedback and stated Russia and Ukraine have been softening their positions. Citing Israeli officers, Axios reported on March 8 that Putin’s “proposal is troublesome for Zelensky to simply accept however not as excessive as they anticipated. They stated the proposal doesn’t embody regime change in Kyiv and permits Ukraine to maintain its sovereignty.”

Discussing how Western leaders felt about his mediation efforts, Bennett stated then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson took an “aggressive line” whereas French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have been extra “pragmatic.” Bennett stated President Biden adopted “each” positions.

However in the end, the Western leaders opposed Bennet’s efforts. “I’ll say this within the broad sense. I feel there was a professional determination by the West to maintain putting Putin and never [negotiate],” Bennett stated.

When requested if the Western powers “blocked” the mediation efforts, Bennet stated, “Mainly, sure. They blocked it, and I assumed they have been flawed.”

Video: pic.twitter.com/x20kx01JzZ

— Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) February 5, 2023

Explaining his determination to mediate, Bennett stated that it was in Israel’s nationwide curiosity to not decide a aspect within the warfare, citing Israel’s frequent airstrikes in Syria. Bennett stated Russia has S-300 air defenses in Syria and that if “they press the button, Israeli pilots will fall.”

Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine didn’t cease with Bennett’s efforts. Later in March, Russian and Ukrainian officers met in Istanbul, Turkey, and adopted up with digital consultations. In response to the account of former US officers talking to Overseas Affairs, the 2 sides agreed on the framework for a tentative deal. Russian officers, together with Putin, have stated publicly {that a} deal was shut following the Istanbul talks.

However the negotiations in the end failed after extra Western strain. Boris Johnson visited Kyiv in April 2022, urging Zelensky to not negotiate with Russia. In response to a report from Ukrainska Pravda, he stated even when Ukraine was able to signal a take care of Russia, Kyiv’s Western backers weren’t.

Later in April, Turkish Overseas Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated there have been some NATO international locations that needed to extend the warfare in Ukraine. “After the talks in Istanbul, we didn’t suppose that the warfare would take this lengthy … However, following the NATO overseas ministers’ assembly, it was the impression that… there are these throughout the NATO member states that need the warfare to proceed, let the warfare proceed and Russia will get weaker. They don’t care a lot concerning the state of affairs in Ukraine,” Cavusoglu stated.

Naftali Bennett has no cause to lie: Putin invaded Ukraine to stop it from becoming a member of NATO, and Biden rejected a peace deal that will have prevented Ukraine from becoming a member of NATO. That is what the warfare is admittedly about. It’s a warfare over NATO growth. https://t.co/3Wzf7WnVFN

— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) February 6, 2023

Just a few days after Cavusoglu’s feedback, Secretary of Protection Lloyd Austin admitted that one of many US’s targets in supporting Ukraine is to see Russia “weakened.”