Putin apologizes for Adolf Hitler’s Jewish ancestry

Jerusalem –

Israeli Prime Minister (PM), Naftali Bennett said that the Russian leader Vladimir Putin has apologized for the remarks made by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, who called Adolf Hitler Jewish descent. The statement is known to have angered Israel.

“The prime minister accepted President Putin’s apology for Lavrov’s remarks and thanked him for explaining his attitude towards the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust,” Bennett’s office said in a statement.

In a statement posted on the website of the Russian foreign ministry, Lavrov said ‘I could be wrong, but Hitler also has Jewish blood’.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called Lavrov’s statement outrageous. This statement is considered a historical fallacy.

“This is an unforgivable and outrageous statement and a horrific historical error,” Lapid said.

Israeli politician Naftali Bennett denounced the comments as a ‘lie’ which he said effectively accused the Jews themselves of the most horrific crimes in history committed against themselves.

The Russian ambassador to Israel was summoned to clarify the statement. Israel has been trying to make the move since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, with Bennett stressing Israel’s close ties with Moscow and Kiev.

Bennett in particular seeks to maintain Russian cooperation with Israeli strikes in Syria, where Russian troops are on the ground. Israel has so far rejected Ukrainian requests for military support, instead supplying bulletproof vests and helmets to medical workers, as well as Israeli field hospitals.

Bennett has sought to mediate the conflict and is among a handful of world leaders to meet with Putin since the invasion traveled to Moscow in early March.

(deck/fas)

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