Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli premier Naftali Bennett spoke on Thursday about Ukraine, safe passage for civilians in Azovstal steel plant, preparations for May 9 celebrations, and honoring the memory of Holocaust victims, Kremlin said in a statement.
It said Putin told Bennett in a "thorough exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine" that Kyiv should order Ukrainian fighters holed up in the vast Azovstal plant to put down their weapons.
Ukrainian defenders trapped at the site have clung on desperately for weeks, while some civilians have made it to safety through humanitarian corridors but others remain inside.
The Kremlin earlier denied that Russian forces were storming the plant, referring to an April 21 order from Putin that they should seal it off but not venture inside its labyrinth of underground tunnels.
The Kremlin said Putin and Bennett, looking forward to the May 9 anniversary when Russia commemorates victory over the Nazis in World War Two, "emphasized the special significance of this date for the peoples of both countries, who carefully preserve the historical truth about the events of those years and honour the memory of all the fallen, including victims of the Holocaust".
Separately, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had apologised for his foreign minister's comments claiming Adolf Hitler had Jewish origins.
Bennett, after the call with the Russian leader, said he accepted the apology and thanked Putin for clarifying his position.
Bennett also said he asked Putin to consider allowing the evacuation of the besieged Azovstal steel works in the Ukrainian port of Mariupol. Bennett said he made that request following an earlier conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and that Putin promised to set up a corridor for civilian evacuation.
