TEL AVIV, February 18. /TASS/. Russia takes note of the balanced stance of Israel, which refrains from supplying weapons to Ukraine, and hopes that the Jewish state’s approach will remain unchanged, Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov has told Jerusalem Post.
In an interview, published on Friday, the diplomat said Moscow had taken "serious note" of Israel’s "diplomatic and balanced position on the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine."
"We hope that this position <…> will remain unchanged and there will be no weapons components provided by the Israeli authorities to Ukraine," he said.
The Russian ambassador said that when it comes to arms supplies to Ukraine, Moscow does not distinguish between offensive and defensive weapons, because sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between them. "Weapons are weapons. They are interconnected," he was quoted as saying.
"We make it clear to all the countries, including Israel, that any supply of weapons would be considered as an unfriendly move toward Russia," Viktorov added.
"There are some indications that Israel will stick to this position," the ambassador said.
In his opinion, this attitude "would be useful for keeping the current level of our bilateral relations."
Both countries have worked for decades to build and maintain constructive relationships, and "it would be very counterproductive to harm or destroy everything which has been achieved during these decades."
Earlier, the Kiev government has repeatedly requested weapons, including air defense systems, from the Israeli leadership. The previous government, headed by Yair Lapid, expressed its support for Ukraine and provided humanitarian assistance to the country, but stopped short of sending any weapons citing national security concerns.
However, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has recently taken the office of prime minister, told France’s LCI television channel on February 6 that he will look at possible weapons supplies to Ukraine taking into account Israel’s national interests. On February 16, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen visited Kiev, becoming the first high-ranking Israeli government member to visit Kiev since the start of the special military operation. The minister met with Ukrainian top diplomat Dmitry Kuleba and President Vladimir Zelensky and pledged to continue humanitarian aid, but the issue of Israeli arms supplies to Ukraine was not raised again.