Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ignored questions about whether his country has agreed to pay Russia to provide Syria with coronavirus vaccines as part of a prisoner exchange between the two Middle Eastern countries.
Mr Netanyahu confirmed on Saturday night that negotiations with Russia had taken place as part of efforts to bring back an Israeli woman stranded in Syria. He said he had spoken twice with Russian President Vladimir Putin to conclude the deal, but denied that Israel had provided its own vaccines.
“I want to say that not even an Israeli vaccine has worked for this,” Netanyahu said. “I brought the woman back. I’m glad I did that. I thank President Putin for doing this. And more than that, I will not add, because this was Russia’s request. ”
The agreement was first reported by a US blogger, Richard Silverstein, and the New York Times, who said Israel had secretly agreed to pay Russia to send vaccines to Syria to ensure the return of the Israeli woman.
Israel described the exchange as a standard exchange of prisoners. However, the prime minister did not deny the purchase of Russian vaccines and a person familiar with the agreement said he was part of the agreement.