Benjamin Netanyahu would consider Ukraine-Russia mediator role

Israeli Prime Minister says he declined role shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Benjamin Netanyahu said the US would have to ask him to mediate between Russia and Ukraine. AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he would be willing to play a mediator role between Russia and Ukraine if asked by both warring countries and the US.

“If asked by all relevant parties, I'll certainly consider it, but I’m not pushing myself in,” Mr Netanyahu told CNN.

“I've been around long enough to know that there has to be a right time and the right circumstances. If they arise, I'll certainly consider it.”

Israel's close ally the US would also need to ask because “you can't have too many cooks in the kitchen”, he said.

Mr Netanyahu said he was asked to be a mediator shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of last year but declined because he was Israel’s opposition leader at the time, not the prime minister.

“I have a rule: one prime minister at a time”, he said.

He would not say who asked him to serve in the role but he said the request was “unofficial”.

The remarks come after a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who called for calm following a flare-up of violence between Israel and the Palestinians and also nudged Israel to boost support to Ukraine.

Mr Blinken said Ukraine needed assistance “as it bravely defends its people and its very right to exist”.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told Mr Blinken he would travel to Ukraine to reopen his country's embassy, the first such trip since the war.

The US is preparing more than $2 billion worth of military aid for Ukraine that is expected to include longer-range rockets for the first time as well as other munitions and weapons, two US officials told Reuters on Tuesday.