Netanyahu on Putin and Ukraine: “I hope he’s having second thoughts” | USA TODAY

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shares his thoughts on democracy, Putin, and the war in Ukraine.

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If former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returns to power in next month’s elections, he will “look into” whether Israel will supply weapons to Ukraine and expects he may be asked to mediate negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, he told USA TODAY in an exclusive interview. “If I become prime minister, that question (of mediation) presumably will come up again,” he said.

Netanyahu, the longest-serving prime minister in Israel’s history and a lightning rod in Israeli politics, is eying a historic comeback. His fifth term as leader of the right-wing Likud party ended in June 2021 when a coalition government consisting of eight parties – encompassing the political spectrum – led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid rose to power.

Israel has resisted significant involvement in the war to maintain its strategic relationship with Moscow. That balancing act has become more complicated as Iran began supplying drones to Russia. Netanhayu said Russian President Vladimir Putin is “guided by his vision of reconstituting a great Russian realm.”

“And I hope he’s having second thoughts about it,” he said. “But I don’t want to play psychologist. I want to be in the position of being prime minister, getting all the information, then making decisions on what and if we do anything in this conflict beyond what has been done so far.”

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