Moscow on Sunday summoned the Israeli envoy to Russia to clarify statements of Israel's senior official, condemning the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Israel's Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi was summoned to Russia's Foreign Ministry days after Kremlin lambasted Foreign Minister Yair Lapid for his vocal support of the UN General Assembly's decision to suspend the Russian Federation from the UN Human Rights Council for its apparent war crimes in Ukraine.
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Israel's Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi, Russian President Vladimir Putin
(Photo: EPA)
In its statement, Moscow's Foreign Ministry said that Lapid’s condemnation on April 7 was "a thinly-disguised attempt to exploit the situation in Ukraine in order to divert the attention of the international community from one of the longest-running unresolved conflicts - the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
Moscow further added it "regrets" Lapid's "aggressive statement" in which he voiced his support of the UN General Assembly’s decision and in which he called Russia's invasion of Ukraine "unjustified," accusing Russian forces for "killing innocent civilians".
"The Israeli government continues to illegally occupy and slowly annex Palestinian territories, resulting in more than 2.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank living in scattered enclaves cut off from the outside world,” said Russia's Foreign Ministry in a statement.
Lapid’s office said it will not respond to Moscow’s condemnation.
Unlike Lapid - who over the past few weeks issued several condemnations of Russia - Prime Minister Naftali Bennett took a much more cautious approach, which saw him effectively refrain from condemning Moscow for its hostility toward it neighbor.
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A Ukrainian soldier walks past a dead body on the streets of Bucha, Ukraine
(Photo: AP)
Bennett also took part in the mediation efforts between Moscow and Kyiv, before taking a markedly firmer stance against Russia.
Following the atrocities uncovered in the Ukrainian city of Bucha - where hundreds of civilians were apparently massacred by Russian forces - Bennett said: "There is a war in Europe. Again a large and powerful country invades without any justification the territory of a smaller and weaker country. Once again the land is soaked in the blood of innocent people.”