Israel Rejects Request for Call Between Gantz and Ukraine's Defense Minister
Jerusalem and Kyiv have been trying to coordinate a call between Defense Minister Gantz and his Ukrainian counterpart for weeks, but the call has been postponed five times. On Monday, Russia warned that if Israel supplies arms to Ukraine it would 'destroy the political relations between the two countries'
Ukrainian officials said Israel canceled arrangements for a call it had initiated a few days ago. Russia accused Israel Monday morning of planning to supply weapons to Ukraine and warned that such a move would harm ties between Jerusalem and Moscow.
The coordination efforts between Jerusalem and Kyiv began weeks ago. Members of Gantz's inner circle said they are important to the defense minister and that he intends to speak with Reznikov within days. Officials in Ukraine expressed hope that the planned conversation will address the possibility of military cooperation.
Gantz and Reznikov last spoke in April. A Ukrainian source told Haaretz another conversation was initially scheduled for August 24, Ukraine's Independence Day, and has since been postponed five times. The source stressed that the call scheduled for Monday was initiated by Israel, which canceled hours before the appointed time. Israeli officials rejected the claim.
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In a statement, the defense minister's office said it doesn't generally comment on Gantz's schedule. Its counterpart in Kyiv said it had no knowledge of a conversation scheduled for Monday or any other day.
On Monday morning Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president who now serves as the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council and is considered close to President Vladimir Putin, warned that if Israel supplies arms to Ukraine it would "destroy the political relations between the two countries." An Israeli official told Haaretz that Medvedev's threat was prompted by remarks by Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai Sunday in support of Israeli military shipments to Ukraine.
Shai tied arms supplies to Ukraine with reports of Iranian weapon shipments to Moscow. "This morning it was reported that Iran is transferring ballistic missiles to Russia. There is no longer any doubt where Israel should stand in this bloody conflict," he wrote on his Twitter account, in English and in Hebrew.
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