Putin Apologizes for Lavrov's Hitler Remarks in Call with Israeli PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks about Jewish Hitler.

Earlier this week, Lavrov stated that Adolf Hitler had “Jewish blood,” provoking anger in Israel amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“The prime minister accepted the apology of President Putin for comments by Lavrov and thanked him for clarifying the president’s view of the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust,” Bennett’s office said.

Nevertheless, the Kremlin pointed out that the two leaders talked about “historic memory,” the Holocaust and the situation in Ukraine, without mentioning an apology.

Earlier Thursday, Putin sent a message to President Isaac Herzog to “congratulate” him on Israel’s Independence Day.

“I am confident that Russian-Israeli relations based on the principles of friendship and mutual respect will continue to develop for the benefit of our peoples and in favour of strengthening peace and security in the Middle East,” he said, according to Herzog’s office.