Israel, which did not join Western sanctions against Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, pledged on Monday not to allow their
“bypass”
by Moscow and oligarchs, said the head of diplomacy Israeli.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: Russia seeks the circle of its “friends” to circumvent Western sanctions
In recent days, the United States and the European Union have increased punitive sanctions against Russia and certain oligarchs deemed close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, as fighting continues since the launch of the invasion. of Ukraine on February 24.
“Israel will not be a way to circumvent the sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and other Western countries,”
declared the head of Israeli diplomacy Yaïr Lapid, during a trip to Slovakia.
In early March, the Israeli government set up a special committee led by a senior Foreign Ministry official to guide the
"Israeli response to these sanctions"
, the spokesman for Israeli diplomacy told AFP on Monday. Lior Haiat, without specifying whether this committee had since made any recommendations.
delicate balance
With the United States as a historic ally, Russian forces based in neighboring Syria, and around a million of its citizens hailing from the former USSR, Israel is trying to strike a delicate balance, but is coming under increasing criticism from from Washington and kyiv for not having joined the sanctions camp against Moscow.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke on the phone Monday for more than an hour with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he met ten days ago in Moscow, according to a senior Israeli official.
He also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, the official added.
Yair Lapid's statement comes as local press reported on Monday that a plane belonging to Russian-Israeli billionaire Roman Abramovich, close to Vladimir Putin and owner of English football club Chelsea, flew from Tel airport. -Aviv after landing there the day before.
Last week, the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem announced that it was suspending its ties with the billionaire who was one of its main donors.