Kyiv sees Foreign Minister Eli Cohen’s phone call on Tuesday with Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s top diplomat, as evidence of a change in Jerusalem’s position on the war, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk said.
“Israel’s foreign minister has not spoken to Lavrov since the war began,” he told the Times of Israel on Tuesday, noting that Kyiv was outraged that Cohen continued the conversation.
As foreign minister, Yair Lapid did not speak to Lavrov. However, then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett remained in touch with Russian President Vladimir Putin throughout the war, even becoming the first foreign leader to meet with Putin in person since the invasion began on February 24.
Lavrov called Cohen on Tuesday to congratulate him on his new post and to discuss “bilateral and regional issues” in the shadow of Moscow’s ongoing invasion and bombing of Ukraine.
An Israeli official told the Times of Israel shortly after Cohen and Lavrov’s call that there was “no change in Israel’s policy” after the call and Cohen’s insistence during his address on Monday that “we will talk less.” Publicity about the war indicated a shift towards Moscow.
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US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, an outspoken Republican voice in support of Ukraine, was among those who took Cohen’s comments as an indication that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration would avoid publicly denouncing Russia over its invasion.
New Secretary of State Eli Cohen at a ceremony at the State Department in Jerusalem, January 2, 2023. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
“The idea that Israel should talk less about Russia’s criminal invasion of Ukraine is a bit unnerving,” Graham said in a tweet.
Korniychuk said Israel’s position on the Russian invasion was “unclear”.
“Unfortunately, we receive no condemnation of the mass shelling of our civilians in recent months. Israel is unique in relation to our partners. It stays silent,” he said.
Russia has been conducting airstrikes on Ukraine’s electricity and water supplies almost weekly since October, adding to the suffering of Ukrainians as its ground forces struggle to hold ground and advance.
The envoy of Ukraine stressed that neither Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba nor Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked to speak to Cohen.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, left, walks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as they arrive for a NATO foreign ministers meeting at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, April 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)
An Israeli official told The Times of Israel that a diplomat had made an official request to Ukraine’s foreign ministry for a meeting between Cohen and Kuleba. Ukrainian officials denied receiving a formal application.
The previous government, led by Bennett and then Lapid, had rejected Ukrainian arms requests, but Lapid has repeatedly spoken out against the Russian invasion and accused the Kremlin of war crimes. The comments were praised in the West but fueled tensions with Moscow even as Jerusalem tried to maintain a semblance of neutrality.
Kyiv has said it needs Israel’s help in air defense technology to counter Russia’s ongoing attacks on its civilian infrastructure. Israel has so far refused to provide such assistance, apparently out of concern for Russia’s response.
During his earlier tenure, Netanyahu touted his close relationship with Putin, insisting it was crucial to maintaining the IDF’s ability to operate freely from the Russian-controlled skies over Syria to prevent entrenchment of Iranian forces on Israel’s northern border . As opposition leader, he first criticized the previous government for neglecting ties with Russia when Jerusalem took several limited steps in support of Ukraine after Putin’s forces invaded in February.
This image shared by Syrian media purportedly shows the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike on Shayrat airbase south of the city of Homs on November 13, 2022. (Social Media; used under Section 27a of the Copyright Act)
However, Netanyahu recently changed his mind. In an interview ahead of November’s elections, he characterized the Bennett-Lapid government’s Ukraine policy — in which Israel provided humanitarian aid, ran a field hospital in Ukraine, and took in a limited number of mostly Jewish refugees while it stopped serving Kyiv . requested military aid – as “pragmatic”.
Netanyahu even said he would consider arming Ukraine if he returned to the post of prime minister, and told Zelenskyy after the election that he had not yet determined Israel’s policy. He also assured the President of Ukraine that he would keep in touch.
Netanyahu said in the October interview that the offer of mediation would “probably resurface” when he returns to power.
Netanyahu and Putin spoke in a congratulatory call last week, which the Israeli prime minister accepted, while Zelenskyy addressed a joint session of the US Congress asking for additional American help to roll back the Russian invasion.
Netanyahu and Zelenskyy spoke by phone on Friday. According to one report, Netanyahu urged the Ukrainian leader to vote against an upcoming UN resolution but declined to commit to any moves when asked about a quid pro quo involving the transfer of defense assistance to intercept Russian attacks went.
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