Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologised to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for remarks made by his foreign minister who claimed Adolf Hitler may have had "Jewish blood".
That is according to a statement from Mr Bennett's office.
A Kremlin summary of the Bennett-Putin call, which came as Israel marked 74 years since the creation of the Jewish state, made no mention of an apology.
It did, however, note that the leaders discussed the "historic memory" of the Holocaust.
During a recent interview with Italy's Rete 4 channel, Sergei Lavrov was asked how Russia could say it needed to "denazify" Ukraine, when the country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, was Jewish.
"When they say 'What sort of nazification is this if we are Jews', well I think that Hitler also had Jewish origins, so it means nothing," he said, speaking through an Italian interpreter.
Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba rebuked Mr Lavrov, saying his remarks were evidence of Russia's own "deep-rooted anti-Semitism".
In a video address, President Zelensky said of the remarks: "I have no words... No one has heard any denial or any justification from Moscow. All we have from there is silence."
Israeli Foreign Ministry Yair Lapid also denounced the comments and said the Russian ambassador to Israel would be summoned for "a tough talk" over the assertion.
President Putin spoke to Mr Bennett in a phone call today.
A statement from Mr Bennett's office said: "The Prime Minister accepted President Putin's apology for Lavrov's remarks and thanked him for clarifying his attitude towards the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust."
The two leaders discussed "historic memory", the Holocaust and expressed interest in developing ties between their two countries, the Kremlin said.
Mr Putin stressed that of the six million Jews who were killed during the Holocaust "40% were citizens of the USSR."
Mr Bennett, for his part, "noted the decisive contribution of the Red Army to victory over Nazism," the Kremlin said.
FM Lavrov could not help hiding the deeply-rooted antisemitism of the Russian elites. His heinous remarks are offensive to President @ZelenskyyUa, Ukraine, Israel, and the Jewish people. More broadly, they demonstrate that today's Russia is full of hatred towards other nations.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) May 2, 2022
President Putin also told Israel that his country's army was "still ready" to allow safe passage for civilians trapped at Mariupol's steel plant, the Kremlin said.
The Russian army yesterday announced a three-day ceasefire at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol in south-eastern Ukraine, saying it would allow civilians to leave.
But a commander of Ukraine's Azov regiment, Svyatoslav Palamar, today accused Russia of breaking its promise.
Mr Putin said civilians could still be allowed to leave the besieged plant but Ukrainian troops must lay down their arms.
"The Russian military is still ready to ensure the safe exit of civilians," he told the Israeli prime minister, the Kremlin said.
"As for the militants remaining at Azovstal, the Kyiv authorities must give them an order to lay down their arms."
Israel has sought to keep a delicate balance between Moscow and Kyiv since the 24 February invasion, but remarks by Sergei Lavrov caused an uproar in the country.
