Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke this week on the phone with both the Ukrainian and Russian presidents, continuing his diplomatic efforts to mediate between the sides.

On Wednesday, he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The last time he spoke with him was nine days earlier. A statement issued by the Kremlin said Putin gave Bennett his assessments on the ongoing negotiations and "progress of the special military operation" in Ukraine. Reportedly, the Russian president expressed condolences over Wednesday’s deadly terror attack in Beersheba, where four Israeli civilians were killed.

A day earlier, Bennett spoke with Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian president said he had spoken that day with Bennett, as well as with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda. In a late-night speech broadcast on social networks, Zelenskyy said, “All the conversations and speeches are so that Russia will understand one thing: We need to reach peace. Russia should also want peace.” Zelenskyy did not offer any details about his conversation with Bennett.

On Sunday, Zelenskyy said Jerusalem could be a good venue to hold a peace summit. Zelenskyy's chief-of-staff, Andriy Yermak, expressed yesterday the same idea. In a video call with Israeli reporters, Yermak said that Israel could also be "one of the guarantors of a major international treaty that would provide clear security guarantees" for his country. "Such an agreement provides for a large list of countries — potential guarantors. Therefore, we are holding separate consultations with each of these countries in order to meet together afterward," Yermak said.