Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett endured a long day of meetings that solidified Israel's leadership role in international talks on the Ukraine war, beginning with an unexpected encounter with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

According to his office, Bennett chatted with Putin for three hours on Saturday before flying to Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Bennett later spoke with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and France's President Emmanuel Macron.

Bennett and Putin reportedly discussed the state of the Jewish community in Ukraine, among other things.

In the early days of the Russian attacks that began Feb. 24, Zelensky requested Bennett's assistance in mediating negotiations due to Israel's unusually intimate relations with Ukraine and Russia. Bennett, who refused to follow Western countries in providing weaponry to aid Ukraine, presented the proposal to Putin, who initially denied it, at least in part because the first round of negotiations had been established in Belarus.

Israel has been more cautious than Western governments in condemning Russia's intervention, owing to Putin's stronghold in Syria, one of Israel's neighbors and most formidable adversaries. Israel is known to execute strikes in Syria regularly, most likely in collaboration with Russia.

Zelensky, a Jew, stated Thursday that he does not believe Bennett "wrapped himself in the Ukrainian flag" during the war's early stages. Israel signed a similar General Assembly resolution days after failing to co-sign a United Nations Security Council resolution denouncing Russia.

Bennett also spoke with Putin and Scholz about the continuing discussions to resurrect the Iran nuclear deal. According to some authorities, the US might re-enter the accord, which former President Donald Trump withdrew from, as early as next week.

Israel opposes the pact, claiming that it paves the way for its avowed adversary Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. Russia and the US are promoting the agreement.