Sharp criticism was directed at an Israeli minister by one of Benjamin Netanyahu's closest American friends for what appears to be a change in Israeli policy regarding the war in Ukraine. On the heels of another United Nations vote in which Ukraine joined the chorus of nations in referring Israel to the International Criminal Court, the new Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said that from now on "we [his office] will talk less about the Russia-Ukraine issue", senior longtime United States Republican Senator Lindsey Graham attacked him.
In his remarks at the ministerial exchange ceremony, Minister Cohen referred to the war in Ukraine, noting that "in the Russia-Ukraine issue, we will do one thing for sure, publicly - we will talk less. We will prepare a detailed reference from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Cabinet in order to formulate a responsible policy. In any case, the significant humanitarian aid [Israel is giving weekly] to Ukraine will continue." Cohen also noted he would speak with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, breaking an unspoken rule about engaging with Russian officials that can be seen as legitimizing their station.
Israel new foreign minister @elicoh1 will speak today with @SecBlinken and tomorrow with Russian FM Lavrov.
— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) January 2, 2023
Says: "On the issue of Russia and Ukraine we will do one thing for sure - In public - we will talk less. *But* the significant humanitarian aid to Ukraine will continue." pic.twitter.com/xQxlTq6vPf
In response to Cohen’s intentions, Graham who has been a fervent supporter of Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion tweeted “I’m glad to see Mr. Cohen, the new Israeli foreign minister, is prioritizing the US-Israel strategic relationship and supports continued humanitarian aid to Ukraine. However, the idea that Israel should speak less about Russia’s criminal invasion of Ukraine is a bit unnerving."
The South Carolina Senator added: “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 every day.”
Senator Graham makes the interesting suggestion that Israel’s attitude toward Russia has impact on US-Israel ties, which FM Cohen identified as Israel’s highest strategic priority. Some important work ahead to try to align US and Israeli positions. https://t.co/X0jqhW9g81
— Dan Shapiro (@DanielBShapiro) January 3, 2023
The Foreign Minister’s office said in response that Lavrov was the one who initiated the conversation with Cohen and that soon a conversation will also be held with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kolba. According to Ei Cohen’s office, Israel updated US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on the expected conversation with Lavrov. In the conversation between Blinken and Cohen, Blinken asked to convey messages to Lavrov on behalf of the United States.
Cohen's spokesperson also stated that "when Cohen said that he should talk less, his intention was to criticize [former Prime Minister Naftali] Bennett's chatter. Bennett's move to try to mediate between the Russians and the Ukrainians and [the publicity around it] hurt Israel. In Cohen's opinion, if there is a possibility to mediate - it should be done behind the scenes, quietly. He did not intend for the words to be interpreted as a policy change in favor of one side or another."
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 every day. https://t.co/4DWp93VPFQ
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) January 2, 2023
While Israel maintains strong relations with both Ukraine and Russia, militarily speaking, Israel relies on Russian approval to carry out various operations against Iran within Syria. However, the pivot of Russia towards Iran for combat drones has many in Israel's defense establishment nervous.
