Israel Asserts No Change Policy on Ukrainian War Following US Warnings

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (File photo: Reuters)
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (File photo: Reuters)
TT

Israel Asserts No Change Policy on Ukrainian War Following US Warnings

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (File photo: Reuters)
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (File photo: Reuters)

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen discussed bilateral relations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and regional and international issues, including the war in Ukraine.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Lavrov called Cohen to congratulate him on his new role.

Cohen referred extensively to the Jewish community in Russia and former Soviet immigrants in Israel and their importance to relations between the countries.

For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Lavrov congratulated his Israeli counterpart on his post and expressed his readiness to work to strengthen cooperation between Russia and Israel.

It stated that the Palestinian-Israeli settlement was discussed during the phone call, adding that Lavrov reiterated Russia's willingness to be involved in the peace process with Palestine based on international law.

In a briefing to Israeli media, a senior Israeli official confirmed that Cohen and Lavrov discussed the Russian war in Ukraine.

Cohen conveyed to his Russian counterpart a message from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, stressing that there was "no change in Israeli policy" in this regard.

The Israeli minister stressed that Israel's aid to Ukraine would continue, noting that while additional details of Israel's policy on the matter were still being crafted, "one thing for certain is that we will talk less about it in public."

He added that the ministry would prepare a detailed memorandum that would constitute a basis for researching the cabinet for political and security affairs to formulate a responsible policy.

After these statements, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, one Israel's strongest supporters in US Congress, slammed Cohen.

Graham tweeted that the new Israeli foreign minister prioritized the US-Israel strategic relationship and supported continued humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

"However, the idea that Israel should speak less about Russia's criminal invasion of Ukraine is a bit unnerving. I hope Mr. Cohen understands that when he speaks to Russia's Lavrov, he's speaking to a representative of a war criminal regime that commits war crimes on an industrial scale daily."

A senior Israeli political official said that Cohen briefed Blinken about the conversation that would take place with Lavrov.

Blinken requested that Cohen convey US messages to Lavrov.

According to the Ynet website, Graham's statements constitute a blow to Cohen and that there was a consensus between Republicans and Democrats on the Russian issue.

If Israeli policy changes to a more supportive approach to Russia, it could damage Jerusalem's standing in Washington.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett refrained from condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

However, the head of the interim government, Yair Lapid, approached the US position more and did not contact any Russian official. Netanyahu likely intends to return to a position closer to Russia.



Trump Says he and Putin Have Agreed to Begin Negotiations on Ending War

FILE – Then-US President Donald Trump, right, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, Friday, July 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE – Then-US President Donald Trump, right, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, Friday, July 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
TT

Trump Says he and Putin Have Agreed to Begin Negotiations on Ending War

FILE – Then-US President Donald Trump, right, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, Friday, July 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
FILE – Then-US President Donald Trump, right, meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, Friday, July 7, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

President Donald Trump upended three years of US policy toward Ukraine on Wednesday, saying that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the war following a dramatic prisoner swap.

Trump said in a social media post that he and Putin held a lengthy phone call during which they committed to “work together, very closely” to bring the conflict to an end and would meet in person, including perhaps in each other's countries.
It was unclear how closely Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be involved. Although Trump held a phone call with him Wednesday, Ukrainian presidential adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said, characterizing it as a "good conversation," The Associated Press reported.
Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump's special Russia-Ukraine envoy, retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, will all be in Germany later this week for the annual Munich Security Conference, which Zelenskyy will also attend.
However, in a blow to Ukraine's aspirations, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier Wednesday at NATO headquarters in Brussels that NATO membership was not realistic for Ukraine and said that any security guarantees for the country would have to be born by European countries.
The Biden administration had joined other NATO members since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 in vowing that membership in the alliance was “inevitable.”
And Trump's announcement appeared to dismantle the Biden-era mantra that Kyiv would be a full participant in any decisions made. “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” Biden and his top national security aides said repeatedly.
Wednesday's Trump-Putin call and resulting policy sea change, followed a prisoner swap that resulted in Russia releasing American schoolteacher Marc Fogel, of Pennsylvania, after more than three years of detention in return for convicted Russian criminal Alexander Vinnik.
“We each talked about the strengths of our respective Nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together,” Trump said in a social media post disclosing details about the call. "But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine.
Trump said they also “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately” and would be alerting Zelenskyy to their conversation. He appointed Rubio, CIA director John Ratcliffe, national security advisor Michael Waltz, and his special Mideast envoy Steven Witkoff to lead those talks.
White House officials later declined to clarify whether Ukraine would be a party to the U.S. negotiations with Russia.
But, they described the prisoner swap as evidence of a diplomatic thaw that could advance negotiations to end the fighting in Ukraine.
Fogel, an American history teacher who was deemed wrongfully detained by Russia, was arrested in August 2021 for possession of marijuana and was serving a 14-year prison sentence. He had been left out of previous prisoner swaps with Russia that were negotiated by the Biden administration.
Vinnik — the other person involved, according to two US officials — was arrested in 2017 in Greece at the request of the US on cryptocurrency fraud charges and was later extradited to the United States, where he pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
He is currently in custody in California awaiting transport to return to Russia, the officials said. The Kremlin confirmed that a Russian citizen was freed in the United States in exchange for Fogel but refused to identify him until he arrives in Russia.
Trump had welcomed Fogel at the White House on Tuesday evening after his return to US soil on Witkoff's personal plane. On Wednesday, Trump declined to say if he spoke with Putin about Fogel and didn't say what the United States had provided in exchange for Fogel’s release.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump suggested that Fogel's release could help anchor a peace deal on Ukraine, saying: “We were treated very nicely by Russia, actually. I hope that’s the beginning of a relationship where we can end that war.”
The Kremlin was more cautious, but it also noted that the deal could help strengthen mutual trust.