MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2023) Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who served as a mediator between Moscow and Kiev at the beginning of the Russian military operation in Ukraine a year ago, said that Western countries blocked negotiations between the sides to the conflict.
"Anything I did was coordinated down to the last detail with the US, Germany and France... They blocked it (dialogue)," Bennett said in an interview with Israeli journalist Hanoch Daum.
The former mediator added that he believed there was "a legitimate decision by the West to keep striking (Russian President Vladimir) Putin" and not trying to negotiate.
According to Bennett, there were around 17-18 drafts of a potential agreement between Russia and Ukraine, none of which have so far been released.
Russia-Ukraine talks began at the end of February after the start of Moscow's military operation. The last round of the negotiations concluded in Istanbul on March 29. The talks have since stalled.
