Tel Aviv: The world is clearly divided into two camps amid the Ukraine war. On one side are those countries which are fiercely condemning the Russian attack on Ukraine and giving arms to Zelensky. At the same time, there are countries like India which have not condemned the Russian action but have vehemently heard Putin in global and bilateral meetings. PM Modi’s statement ‘This era is not of war’ was discussed all over the world. Now a new government has come in Israel and PM Modi’s friend Benjamin Netanyahu has come back to power. After the right-wing Netanyahu came to power, many analysts are now saying that under his leadership, Israel can strengthen friendship with Russia.
This signal of change in Israel’s foreign policy was found in the first public speech of the new foreign minister on 2 January. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said the new government would speak less when it comes to Russia and Ukraine. In this way, he indicated that the Netanyahu administration would refrain from taking any position publicly in this dispute. Cohen held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov before holding talks with Ukraine’s foreign minister.
Netanyahu sending more positive signals to Russia
Experts say that this decision of Israel can increase the tension of Ukraine. Jonathan Reinhold, head of political affairs at Bar Ilan University, said, ‘The difference between Israel’s new and old governments is that the government before Netanyahu believed in a 100 percent pro-Ukraine ideology. The previous government was doing everything possible to help Ukraine without completely isolating Russia. The Netanyahu government is not too concerned about ideology.
According to Aljazeera’s report, Israel’s new government is going to send more positive signals to Russia. Along with this, it is maintaining its long-standing foreign policy. Reinhold said, ‘Israel has two main national security interests regarding Russia and Ukraine on which there is a general consensus in the country. The first is to maintain good relations with the US and the second is Russia’s belief that Israel has the freedom to militarily target Iranian troops and weapons inside Syria. This will require active coordination between the Israeli and Russian forces so that there is no conflict between the two soldiers.
