Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shunned questions about whether his country agreed to pay Russia to provide coronavirus vaccines to Syria as part of a prisoner exchange between the two Middle East countries.
Netanyahu confirmed Saturday night that negotiations with Russia took place as part of efforts to recover an Israeli woman trapped in Syria. He said he had spoken twice with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the deal, but denied that Israel would provide him with its own vaccines.
“I mean not even an Israeli vaccine went for that thing,” Netanyahu said. “It simply came to our notice then. I’m glad I did that. I thank President Putin for doing so. And more than that, I will not add because this was the Russian request.
The deal was first reported by a U.S.-based blogger, Richard Silverstein, and the New York Times, who said Israel secretly agreed to pay Russia to send vaccines to Syria to ensure the return of the Israeli woman. .
Israel has described the exchange as a standard prisoner exchange. The prime minister did not deny the purchase of Russian vaccines, however, and one person familiar with the deal said he was part of the deal.