Conflict between Israel and Ukraine over controversial statements by Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.
The Ukrainian ambassador to Israel, Yevgen Kornichuk, was summoned this afternoon (Thursday) for a reprimand call at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, following a message he posted on Facebook criticizing Lapid's statements, in an interview with the Walla website yesterday.
Lapid said, "We are acting with special caution because of the Jewish community."
He noted that he had spoken with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
"I do not see a violent confrontation soon. I do not think a world war will break out. It bothers us that it diverts attention from the nuclear talks in Vienna that we would like to get more American attention from the United States to prevent dangerous things from happening there."
The Ukrainian ambassador criticized Lapid's remarks.
In a post on the embassy website, he wrote, "I was deeply shocked by Mr. Lapid's recent remarks regarding his vision of the 'Russia-Ukraine conflict.'
Ukrainian forces during exercises in Kiev, January 22, 2022, Photo: Sean Gallup / Getty Images
In response to Lapid's assessment that war will not break out, the ambassador wrote that "Shame on Lapid did not notice that there has been a war in Central Europe, which has been going on for eight years. Unfortunately, Mr. "The United Kingdom and the European Union, regarding the high possibility of a full-scale Russian military invasion of Ukraine within three weeks."
The ambassador added that he shared Lapid's fear that a war against his country would divert attention from the Iranian problem.
"I dare to suggest that if a full-scale war breaks out in Europe, Israel will be left alone face to face with the Iranian threat."
He criticized the fact that Torch spoke only with the Russians and not with his foreign minister.
"I would suggest to Mr Lapid to have a telephone conversation not only with the foreign minister of the aggressive state but also to communicate with the Ukrainian side, to see the real picture instead of using Russian clichés.
I also suggest to our Israeli friends to use the invitation of our President and visit Kiev which will be very important to our country today.
"Our fellow Americans, Britons and other Europeans have already done that," the ambassador noted.
As stated, in the Foreign Minister's office in Jerusalem, it was decided in response to the criticism to summon the ambassador to a reprimand that will take place in the coming days by the Deputy Minister of Eurasia at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A senior official in Kiev told Israel today that the ambassador's response reflected the position of the Ukrainian government and expressed disappointment that Israel had taken a side in the conflict.
"We are in a very difficult situation in Ukraine. There are no games here. We understand Israel's need to maintain neutrality between us and Russia, but at the same time we also need friends. If Israel's representatives maintain neutrality, we would not say anything. But the minister's words We were one-sided, so we had to respond. "
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