Israeli FM promises cooperation with Ukraine against Iran
According to AP, Israel and Ukraine on Thursday agreed to step up cooperation in a shared struggle against Iran, Israel’s foreign minister announced, as he wrapped up the first visit to Kyiv by a senior Israeli official since Russia’s invasion last year.
But Foreign Minister Eli Cohen gave few details on what type of cooperation would take place. He also gave no indication that Israel had met a longstanding Ukrainian request to join the U.S. and other Western allies in providing weapons to the Ukrainian military.
Israel considers Iran to be its greatest enemy, citing the country’s nuclear program, its hostile rhetoric and its support for militant groups along Israel’s borders.
With Iran now providing attack drones to Russia in the Ukrainian war, Israel could be in a position to assist Ukraine with intelligence on arms shipments and expertise on how to counter the aerial threats.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski, Cohen was evasive. “We spoke about deepening cooperation with Ukraine against the Iranian threat in the international arena,” he said.
Since the outbreak of the war, Israel has walked a tightrope between assisting Ukraine and avoiding friction with Russia, with which it has strategic regional interests. Unlike other western countries, Israel has not imposed sanctions on Russia or Russian officials or provided Ukraine with weapons.
It has provided humanitarian support to Ukraine, including a field hospital. Cohen said Thursday that Israel would provide $200 million in loan guarantees to build hospitals in Ukraine and reiterated an Israeli pledge to give Ukraine a sophisticated air-defense warning system.
But he gave no specifics on when that system might be delivered, made no mention of Russia and did not publicly respond to Ukrainian appeals for Israeli arms.
“Israel, as stated in the past, stands firmly in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and remains committed to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Cohen said.
Ukrainian leaders have talked in the past about some intelligence cooperation with Israel. Cohen refused to answer questions about the topic.
The visit came just before the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion and as Western nations seek to increase aid to the country.
