Amidst the escalating tensions between Russia, Ukraine, The United States, and NATO, Kyiv and Washington, D.C. have both reached out to an unlikely party for very different reasons: Ukraine for defense assistance with air and cyber threats and the US seeking back-channel diplomacy with Moscow… Here’s the clincher: that unlikely party… is Israel.
According to Algemeiner,
“US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Lapid on Monday, asking Israel to convey to Russia a message on the need for de-escalation, Axios reported, citing unnamed Israeli officials.
“This was the second time in recent weeks Blinken asked Israel to pass on such a message.”
Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba told the press that there was a “very deep cooperation” between Ukraine and Israel.
“We are also interested in deepened defense cooperation … in particular related to air defense,” he told the press, “We would welcome the effort of Israel to play a diplomatic role between Ukraine and Russia,” he added. On the other side, echoing the assessment of Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid told Axios that he really doesn’t believe that a conflict will break out between Russia and Ukraine.
“At the moment, the (Israeli) assessment is that we don’t see a violent confrontation soon. I also don’t think a world war is about to start there,” Lapid told Axios. Lapid stressed that Israel takes great care in any attempt to assist with the situation owing to the larger Jewish communities that are extant in both Ukraine and Russia. “We have a duty to act with caution about the Russia-Ukraine crisis that no other country has,” he said.
According to Lahav Harkov of The Jerusalem Post, however, Israel shortly after summoned Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel for a reprimand, accusing him of adopting ‘Russian rhetoric’.
the middle of Europe for 8 years. Unfortunately, the minister is adopting Russian rhetoric and ignoring Israel's strongest allies who think there is a high chance that Russia will invade." 2/2
— Lahav Harkov (@LahavHarkov) February 3, 2022
A Role Reversal For America And Israel
Great speaking with Israeli Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister @yairlapid today. A strong U.S.-Israel bilateral relationship is important in the face of common challenges, including the risks of further Russian aggression against Ukraine and threats posed by Iran.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) January 31, 2022
Israel who has historically found itself leaning on the United States in pursuit of peace and diplomatic relations with both the Palestinian Authority and its’ neighbors in the middle east, suddenly finds itself in the driver’s seat from a foreign affairs standpoint. This is a positive sign for the Israelis, a new prominence and prestige if they can make it work, and a humbling moment for the US under the Biden-Harris regime who we can now say is indefatigable leading America on a path to decline, where we must depend on those who previously depended upon us.
