Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in an interview on Thursday that Russia’s relations with Iran pose a serious threat to the whole world.
“We naturally think that relations between Russia and Iran are a serious problem not only for Israel, but also for Ukraine, Europe, and the whole world,” Lapid told the Russian RTVi channel.
“Iran is a dangerous terrorist state, and the fact that Russia is doing business with it puts the whole world in danger. The fact that they use Iranian drones to kill Ukrainian civilians is absolutely unacceptable,” he underlined.
Lapid reiterated his support for Ukraine in the ongoing conflict with Russia, but stressed that he has a “duty to look after Israel’s security,” apparently referring to Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz announcing that Israel wouldn’t provide Ukraine with weapons.
The prime minister also commented on recent remarks made by Diaspora Minister Nachman Shai on Twitter, where he said Israel should join the U.S. and NATO countries in supplying arms to Ukraine in light of Iran’s involvement in the conflict.
“Minister Shai expressed his personal opinion, which differs from that of the Israeli government," Lapid said.
"The official position of the state is approved by the government. We did not follow up on the question of why he said what he said. But this is not in line with the government's position,” he said.
Speaking about the Jewish Agency's legal struggle shortly after a Russian court once again postponed the hearing over its liquidation, Lapid noted that Israel has taken steps to ensure that Russian Jews will be able to immigrate to Israel regardless of the agency's ability to operate in Moscow.
“We have taken such steps in advance to ensure that even if the work of the Jewish Agency is hampered in Russia, we will be able to continue bringing immigrants to Israel so that all those who want to immigrate can do so, and we can help those people. Russia's problems are not related to Israel. Russia has created problems for itself with the whole world," Lapid said.