Greek Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Dendias spoke with his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid on Tuesday about events in Ukraine and the continuation of close coordination between the two East Mediterranean country.
"We discussed various issues of common interest with a focus on developments in Ukraine and agreed that Greece and Israel will remain in close coordination," Dendias wrote on Twitter.
Ι held a phone conversation today with my #Israel counterpart @yairlapid. We discussed various issues of common interest with a focus on the developments in #Ukraine & agreed that 🇬🇷&🇮🇱 will remain in close coordination. pic.twitter.com/K9NPlEMrje
— Nikos Dendias (@NikosDendias) March 15, 2022
In its own tweet, the Israeli Embassy in Greece wrote that the two ministers also discussed "a plethora of issues (...), and they decided to continue their close consultations."
Meanwhile, the Jewish country is grappling with a situation that involves dealing with dozens of Jewish Russian oligarchs as Western nations step up sanctions on businesspeople with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A worried Israeli government has formed a high-level committee to see how the country can maintain its status as a haven for any Jew without running afoul of the biting sanctions targeting Putin’s inner circle, Al-Jazeera reported.
Several dozen Jewish tycoons from Russia are believed to have taken on Israeli citizenship or residency in recent years. Many have good working relations with the Kremlin, and at least four – Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven and Viktor Vekselberg – have been sanctioned internationally because of their purported connections to Putin.
Israel, which has emerged as an unlikely mediator between Ukraine and Russia, has not joined the sanctions imposed by the United States, United Kingdom, the European Union and others. But as the war in Ukraine drags on, and other names are added to the list, the pressure is increasing.
In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 TV station over the weekend, the US under-secretary of state for political affairs, Victoria Nuland, called on Israel to join the group of countries that have sanctioned Russia.
“What we are asking among other things is for every democracy around the world to join us in the financial and export control sanctions that we have put on Putin,” she said. “You don’t want to become the last haven for dirty money that’s fuelling Putin’s wars.”
Aaron David Miller, a now-retired veteran US diplomat, said on Twitter that Nuland’s comments were the “toughest battering of Israeli policy since crisis began or of any policy in very long while”.
Israeli media have reported private jets belonging to oligarchs coming in and out of the country in recent days. Channel 12 said late on Sunday that one of Abramovich’s planes had arrived, though it was unclear if he was on board.
Lior Haiat, a spokesman for Israel’s foreign ministry, said the government has formed a special inter-ministerial committee to study the sanctions issue. The fate of affected oligarchs is a central part of that mission.
In the meantime, the Israeli foreign minister has already advised his colleagues to keep their distance from the oligarchs.
“You have to be very careful because those guys have connections and they can call you on the phone and ask you for things,” Lapid recently told the cabinet. “Don’t commit to anything because it could cause diplomatic damage. Say you can’t help them and give them the number of the Foreign Ministry.”
He also said his country “will not be a route to bypass sanctions imposed on Russia by the US and other Western countries”.
His comments, first reported in Israeli media, were confirmed by officials who attended the meeting. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing closed cabinet proceedings.
Israel, one of the few countries that have good relations with both Russia and Ukraine, may be able to insulate itself from the international pressure as long as it continues to mediate between the warring sides.
READ MORE: Zelensky ‘dismisses’ General after missile strike in Donetsk city centre.
