Israeli Foreign Ministry to Summon Ukraine’s Ambassador Over Allegations of Pro-Russian Bias

Tel Aviv, June 25 – A representative of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to the News Agency that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will contact the Ukrainian ambassador, Yevgeny Korniychuk, after a statement made by the Ukrainian embassy in Tel Aviv, in which he described Israel’s position on the Ukrainian conflict as “pro-Russian”. The government of the Jewish state was blamed for helping the “practically absent” Kiev.

Earlier on Sunday, at a closed press conference for Israeli journalists, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said the Ukrainian ambassador would be summoned to the Foreign Ministry for a reprimand, calling the Ukrainian embassy’s statement “cruel and unacceptable.”

Earlier on Sunday, the Ukrainian embassy in Tel Aviv issued a statement blaming the Israeli leadership for not doing enough to help Kiev in its conflict with Russia. “The current Israeli government has chosen the path of close cooperation with the Russian Federation,” the Ukrainian embassy said, adding that Israeli humanitarian aid to Kiev is “practically absent.”

Cohen’s recent visit to Kiev was called “unfruitful” at the embassy, ​​and the arguments of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the reasons for refusing to supply Ukraine with weapons were “imaginative and speculative.”

The statement of the Ukrainian embassy in Israel stressed that “the Israeli leadership, under the guise of verbal demagoguery about its neutrality, is actively building relations with Russia.” And the diplomatic mission says: “On the ground, the so-called ‘neutrality’ of the Israeli government is seen as a clear pro-Russian position.”

The Ukrainian embassy in Israel called on the Israeli government to change its position and support Kiev with defensive means. “We expect Israel to stand on the right side of history,” the statement said.

After the publication of the Ukrainian embassy’s statement, Cohen said in an interview with Israel’s Army Radio that Israel does not intend to discuss Kiev about its policy of providing aid to Ukraine, since Israel has already chosen the “right side”. from history ”and repeatedly expressed his position on the Ukrainian conflict, including the defense of the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Israel is among the countries that condemned the Russian special operation in Ukraine, but the previous and current Israeli governments have consistently refrained from providing Kiev with military aid and weapons, limiting themselves to humanitarian supplies.

Russia has previously sent a memorandum to NATO countries over the supply of weapons to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has indicated that any shipment containing weapons to Ukraine would become a legitimate target for Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that NATO countries were “playing with fire” by supplying weapons to Ukraine. The Kremlin stated that the injection of weapons into Ukraine from the West does not contribute to the success of the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative impact. Lavrov also stated that the United States and NATO are directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine not only by providing weapons, but also by training personnel in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and other countries.

Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin described his goal as “protecting people who have been bullied and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years”. He noted that the special operation was a forced measure, and that Russia “left no opportunity to do otherwise, and security risks were created such that it was impossible to respond by other means.” According to him, Russia has been trying for 30 years to agree with NATO on the principles of security in Europe, but in response it has faced either deception and cynical lies, or attempts at pressure and blackmail, while the Alliance, despite Moscow’s protests, is the same. Steady expansion and approach to the borders of the Russian Federation.