‘Sorry we called Hitler a Jew’: Russian Prez Putin apologises to Israel

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized for comments that his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made about Hitler and Jews earlier this week in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, according to a statement from Bennett’s office.

The Thursday statement said, “The Prime Minister accepted President Putin’s apology for Lavrov’s remarks and thanked him for clarifying the President’s attitude towards the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust.”

The call came after a diplomatic row sparked by Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s comments on the Holocaust. Lavrov had claimed Adolf Hitler may have had “Jewish blood” while speaking about Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Kremlin made no direct reference to the row, but said Putin told Bennett that Russia was “still ready” to allow civilian evacuations out of the besieged steel plant in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.

Lavrov spoke to Italian TV on Sunday, days after Israel marked Holocaust Remembrance Day – one of the most solemn occasions in the Israeli calendar.

When asked how Russia can claim that it is fighting to “de-Nazify” Ukraine when President Volodymyr Zelensky is himself Jewish, Mr Lavrov said: “I could be wrong, but Hitler also had Jewish blood. [That Zelensky is Jewish] means absolutely nothing. Wise Jewish people say that the most ardent anti-Semites are usually Jews.”

The comments sparked outrage in Israel. Nazi Germany murdered six million Jews in the Holocaust in World War Two.

Israel had demanded an apology, with Mr Bennett saying shortly after that “such lies are meant to blame the Jews themselves for the most terrible crimes in history and thus free the oppressors of the Jews from their responsibility”.

Israel has tried to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, but has also faced criticism for not taking a tougher line against President Putin.

Israeli media this week reported that Israel was considering boosting its military and civilian assistance to Ukraine.

The Russian account of the call said the leaders emphasized the special significance of May 9 for the people of Russia and Israel, which is celebrated as Victory Day in Russia as a momentous day for the people of Russia and Israel.

The leaders honored the memory of all the fallen, including the victims of the Holocaust, it said, while expressing their interest in the further development of friendly Russian-Israeli relations.

Bennet noted the “decisive contribution of the Red Army to the Victory over Nazism.”

Putin and Bennet also discussed the situation in Ukraine, including the evacuation of civilians from the Azovstal steel plant. According to the Kremlin, Putin said that the Russian military was ready to ensure the safe exit of civilians from the plant.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked by Russian state media RIA Novosti on Thursday whether Putin’s call with Bennett touched upon Israel’s possible arms supplies to Ukraine and Lavrov’s statements.

“The topics of the conversation were listed in the statement,” Peskov told RIA Novosti.

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