TEL AVIV, January 3. /TASS/. Israel’s new Foreign Minister Eli Cohen held a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to focus on bilateral relations and regional issues, Cohen wrote on his Twitter page on Tuesday.
"I have just finished a conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who called to congratulate me on taking office. We touched upon some bilateral and regional issues, as well as the relations between [our] countries," Cohen said.
The state-run Kan radio station reported on Tuesday, citing sources, that the Israeli minister told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who Cohen had called on Monday, about his upcoming conversation with Lavrov. According to the radio station’s sources, Blinken asked his Israeli counterpart to convey a message to Lavrov, which content was not disclosed.
On December 29, the Israeli parliament supported the government formed by Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the Likud party, following the November 1 elections. On Monday, Cohen spoke at the inauguration ceremony, outlining the cabinet’s main foreign policy areas. He pledged that strengthening the strategic partnership with the US and countering Iran would remain the top priorities. When touching upon Ukraine, Cohen stressed that from now on Israel "will talk less publicly" about that issue, but would continue to provide humanitarian aid to Kiev. According to the Kan radio station, the Israeli top diplomat plans to call his Ukrainian counterpart Dmitry Kuleba in the near future.