Israel Says Putin Apologizes After Dispute Over Lavrov’s Hitler Remarks
- Kremlin makes no mention of an apology in call with Bennett
- Bennett had condemned as ‘lies’ Lavrov comments on Nazi leader
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia in 2021.
Photographer: Yevgeny Biyatov/Sputknik/AFP/Getty Images
Israel said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin called Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to apologize after a heated public disagreement between the two countries over remarks made by the Russian foreign minister suggesting Adolf Hitler was Jewish.
Bennett accepted Putin’s apology for Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s comments, the prime minister’s office said on Twitter. The Kremlin statement made no mention of any apology, instead saying that Putin and Bennett agreed on the importance of remembering the victims of World War II, including the Holocaust. They also discussed the conflict in Ukraine, which Russia invaded on Feb. 24.