Israel says its prime minister and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Thursday.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office said Putin apologized to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for the recent remarks made by Russia's foreign minister that Adolf Hitler had "Jewish origins." It said Bennett accepted Putin's apology.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the claim in an interview with an Italian TV station on Sunday.

He sought to justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine by saying it is aimed at "de-Nazifying" Ukraine, even though President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish.

Lavrov said when the Ukrainians say, "How can Nazification exist if we're Jewish," he countered by claiming that "Hitler also had Jewish origins, so it means nothing."

On Thursday, the Russian presidential office issued a statement about the two leaders' talks, but did not mention Putin's apology.

The statement said Putin recalled that of the 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust, 40 percent had been Soviet citizens.

The statement also mentioned the May 9 anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two. It said Putin and Bennett "emphasized the special importance of this date for the people of both countries," who "honor the memory of all the fallen, including the victims of the Holocaust."