Netanyahu talks to Putin for second time since start of war against Hamas

On Sunday, December 10, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a telephone conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin for the second time since the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. Netanyahu interrupted a government meeting for the occasion

Haaretz reported the information.

The outlet noted that the Israeli prime minister left the cabinet meeting on Sunday morning to talk to Putin and returned only at the end of the meeting.

According to the prime minister's office, Putin and Netanyahu spoke for about 50 minutes. It was their first conversation in about two months.

During the phone conversation, the Israeli Prime Minister reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with some of the statements made by Russian officials at the UN and other forums against Israel.

Netanyahu also criticized relations between Russia and Iran and called them dangerous.

The prime minister emphasized that any country that suffers from a terrorist attack, such as Israel on October 7, will act with no less force than his country.

At the same time, Netanyahu expressed gratitude for Russia's efforts to free the Israeli citizen with Russian citizenship and said that Israel would use all means, both political and military, to free all hostages. The Israeli prime minister also asked Putin to put pressure on the Red Cross to visit and provide medicine for the hostages in Gaza.

• The last time Netanyahu spoke to Putin on the phone was after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 16. At that time, the Russian leader declared his readiness to work for a "peaceful settlement of the conflict by political and diplomatic means."
• Notably, the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas welcomed the position of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Russia's "tireless efforts" in the context of the war with Israel.