A European diplomat on Tuesday made an exaggerated comment on Israel’s cautious policy toward Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as Israel’s ambassador to the US insisted that Jerusalem “supports Ukraine.”
“Israel cannot decide not to be on the side of European countries and the United States,” said an EU diplomat, who spoke on the phone with The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said earlier on Tuesday that Israel was seeking to “quietly help” while maintaining its own strategic interests, citing the need to maintain working ties with Russia, which has a strong influence on Syria. Controls the airspace where Israel operates to target Iranian proxies.
While Israel has expressed its support for the Ukrainian people and sent a shipment of 100 tons of humanitarian aid, Bennett has avoided calling Putin by name, denied a Ukrainian request for military equipment and his foreign minister. Yair Lapid avoided condemning Russia. The bombing of the Babi Yar memorial complex in Kyiv, the site of the massacre of thousands of Jews by the Nazis during World War II.
Israel also rejected a US request last week to support a Security Council resolution condemning Russia, although Lapid announced it would support a General Assembly resolution to the same effect later this week. Will do
The European diplomat, who spoke to The Times of Israel on the eve of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit, said European countries “are aware of Israel’s security interests.”
Members of the European Parliament applaud Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who appears on a screen, as he speaks at a video conference during a special plenary session of the European Parliament, which is held at the EU Headquarters in Brussels. The Russian offensive focuses on March 1, 2022 (John Thays/AFP)
But the official argued that Israel is placing too much weight on maintaining good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“How is Israel prepared to trust a president who is violating all its relations with the whole world, that this is to Israel more than anything else?” said the diplomat.
Hitting back on the notion that Israel was refusing to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Israel’s ambassador to the US Mike Herzog said Israel would support the General Assembly resolution against Russia in addition to voting in favour.
“Israel believes in maintaining the international order and unquestioningly supports Ukraine, its sovereignty and its territorial integrity,” Herzog tweeted Tuesday.
Israel’s Ambassador to the US Mike Herzog. (courtesy)
“While our moral position is clear, we are striving to pursue it in a way that will preserve the independence of our operations against Iran in the region, which is in everyone’s interest,” he said, referring to Israeli officials. regarding the interests of Jerusalem and Syria, providing more details than is usually disclosed publicly.
Herzog reiterated Israel’s offer to help mediate between Russia and Ukraine, an offer that Kyiv encouraged but one that Moscow has yet to publicly accept.
