US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on Monday criticized incoming Secretary of State Eli Cohen, who indicated that Israel will avoid publicly criticizing Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Graham, an outspoken Republican voice in support of Ukraine, has in the past criticized Jerusalem for its policies on the war, but Monday’s comments were the first time he has expressed frustration since his longtime ally Benjamin Netanyahu returned to the post of Prime Minister.
He also appeared to be the first Republican to publicly criticize the new hard-line coalition in Jerusalem.
“The idea that Israel should talk less about Russia’s criminal invasion of Ukraine is a bit unnerving,” Graham said in a tweet.
South Carolina lawmakers were responding to a speech by Cohen to Israeli diplomats hours earlier, in which he announced he would speak with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday. Cohen said Israel’s humanitarian assistance to Ukraine would continue, but noted that while more details of Israeli policy on the matter were still being worked out, “one thing is certain, we will be speaking less about it in public.”
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The previous government had rejected Ukrainian arms requests, but former Prime Minister Yair Lapid has repeatedly spoken out against the Russian invasion and accused the Kremlin of committing war crimes. The comments were praised in the West but fueled tensions with Moscow even as Jerusalem tried to maintain a semblance of neutrality.
“I am pleased to see that Mr. Cohen … is prioritizing US-Israel strategic relations and supporting continued humanitarian assistance to Ukraine,” replied Graham, a fervent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I hope Mr. Cohen understands that when he speaks to Lavrov in Russia, he is speaking to a representative of a war criminal regime that commits war crimes on an industrial scale every day. Staying silent about Russia’s criminal behavior will not age well,” he added.
New Secretary of State Eli Cohen speaks at the State Department in Jerusalem on January 2, 2023. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
Cohen did not immediately respond to Graham’s comments, which were published in Israel overnight.
Last March, Graham criticized the former Israeli government, led by then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett Israel, for refusing to sell arms to Ukraine to stave off the ongoing Russian invasion.
Kyiv has said it needs Israel’s help in air defense technology to counter Russia’s ongoing attacks on its civilian infrastructure.
“They asked Israel … for Stinger [missiles], and apparently Israel said no. So I’ll call Israel. You know, we stand up for Israel with the Iron Dome,” Graham told Fox News, citing long-standing US military aid that helped develop air defense systems that Ukraine was striving for.
“Putin is a thug. He’s a war criminal. He is destroying a sovereign nation called Ukraine. And if we don’t get Ukraine and Russia right, the Chinese will advance on Taiwan, and the Iranians will launch a bomb. So it’s in everyone’s interest,” Graham argued at the time, for Ukraine to be able to defend itself.
I am pleased to see that Mr. Cohen, the new Israeli foreign minister, is prioritizing US-Israel strategic relations and supporting continued humanitarian assistance #Ukraine.
However, the idea that Israel should talk less about Russia’s criminal invasion of Ukraine is a little troubling.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 2, 2023
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 . He first criticized the previous government for neglecting ties with Russia when Jerusalem took several limited steps in support of Ukraine after Putin’s troops invaded in February.
However, Netanyahu has recently changed his mind. In an interview ahead of the November elections, he characterized the Bennett-Lapid government’s Ukraine policy — Israel was providing humanitarian aid, operating a field hospital in Ukraine and taking in a limited number of mostly Jewish refugees while making a stopover at Kyiv’s request lodged military aid – as “pragmatic”.
Netanyahu even said he would consider arming Ukraine if he returns to the post of prime minister.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) meets with then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Kremlin in Moscow January 30, 2020. (Maxim Shemtov/Pool/AFP)
“In my opinion [Putin is] Guided by his vision to rebuild a great Russian empire and I hope he’s thinking about it,” Netanyahu told USA Today at the time.
He also revealed that he was asked to mediate after war broke out between Russia and Ukraine. “I said, ‘Well, I think I’ll leave the decision to the incumbent prime minister.’
Bennett tried to mediate between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, traveling to Moscow and having a handful of phone calls with both leaders. But he made no headway after several weeks and eventually put the effort aside to focus on the political turmoil at home.
Netanyahu said in the October interview that the offer of mediation would “probably resurface” when he returned to power.
Netanyahu and Putin spoke last week in a congratulatory call promised by the Israeli prime minister, 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.
Cohen spoke with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier Monday, but Ukraine was not among the issues discussed, according to the phone call from Jerusalem and Washington.
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