Moscow summoned on Sunday Israeli Ambassador to Russia Alex Ben Zvi, amid diplomatic tensions over the Russia-Ukraine war.
On Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry criticized “anti-Russian” remarks by Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who accused Russia of war crimes in Ukraine following the April 7 vote to suspend Russia from the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Russia Strongly Criticizes Israel, Summons Israeli Ambassador to Moscow https://t.co/anKQB7X7f7
— Joe Catron (@jncatron) April 17, 2022
In a statement released after the vote, Lapid spoke about the “unjustified invasion” of Ukraine, while accusing the Russian military of “killing innocent civilians”.
The Russian Foreign Ministry responded to Lapid’s accusations saying that “There is an effort to take advantage of the situation around Ukraine to distract the international community from one of the longest unresolved conflicts — the Palestinian-Israeli.”
Russia condemns Israel over Ukraine war criticism, summons Israeli ambassador for talk; Moscow also reveals that latest Syria strike was carried out by Israeli F-16s. Russians clearly unhappy but will they take stronger steps? No comment from Israel for now.
— Israel Radar (@IsraelRadar_com) April 17, 2022
The Russian statement also denounced “the illegal occupation and creeping annexation of Palestinian territories (…) carried out with the tacit connivance of the leading Western countries and the actual support of the United States”.
