Talks between Russia and Ukraine at the beginning of war were interrupted by Western countries, Israeli former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said this in his nearly 5-hour-long video interview to Israel’s Channel 12.

“At some point the West decided to crush [Russian President Vladimir] Putin rather than to negotiate.

My mediation was coordinated down to the last detail with the US, France, and Germany”, - added Naftali Bennett.

He said in wake of the fighting, there was no common approach among Western leaders as “[British PM] Boris Johnson adopted the aggressive line, [German Chancellor Olaf] Scholz and [French President Emmanuel] Macron were more pragmatic, and [US President Joe] Biden was both”.

“Some 17 or 18 drafts of the peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv had been prepared with his involvement. Among other things, I managed to secure a pledge from Putin that he was not going to kill Ukrainian President, who feared for his life.

The Russian leader was also ready to retract his demand for the demilitarization of Ukraine, while Volodymyr Zelensky promised to give up on his aspirations to join NATO”, - the former PM said.