Washington should persuade Tel Aviv to provide military assistance to Kyiv since the United States is the only country that Israel is listening to, Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Evgeny Korniychuk has said in an interview with The Hill.
Jokingly referring to the US ambassador to Israel Tom Nides as a secret weapon in his campaign to push Israel out of its neutral status, Korniychuk noted that he meets with him on a weekly basis as part of efforts to bring Israel in line with the Western position and to discuss the different measures of support.
Stressing the need to change makes Israel’s neutral position regarding military-technical cooperation – different from the rest of the democratic world – the Ukrainian ambassador however admitted that there has been some positive development since Tel Aviv recently offered Ukraine a missile warning system.
Yet, according to Korniychuk, Kyiv is expecting more from Israel, expressing hope that Israel might change its stance on arms supplies in light of the alleged Russia- Iran military collaboration in Ukraine, which both countries have been vehemently denying.
The second most important issue for him, as Korniychuk argued, is that the US should also ensure its close ally enforces anti-Russia restrictions and abides by Western sanctions on Russia.
Less than a week ago, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz made it clear to his Ukrainian counterpart Alexey Reznikov that Israel will not provide weapon systems to Kyiv, citing the operational limitations.
Gantz, however, said that Tel Aviv is prepared to continue supplying Ukraine with humanitarian aid and life-saving defense equipment.
With regard to the restrictions, the Israeli government said that it is doing everything it can to be part of the international sanctions effort although Tel Aviv doesn’t have its own sanctions legislation.
Russia, meanwhile, has been consistently warning the West against “pumping up” Ukraine with weapons, explaining that it would only prolong the conflict and cause unnecessary casualties.