Vladimir Putin
“My position remains that the United States must use all diplomatic, informational and economic instruments of national power at our disposal to support Ukraine and deter Russia’s aggression. The purpose and goal must be to help de-escalate this conflict as soon as possible,” Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) said in a news release.
The Jewish state is learning that it “can no longer sit on the fence as the world is increasingly being divided between democracies and autocracies,” said Emmanuel Navon, also an analyst at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted about “information on joint steps and steps of our partners against the background of Russian aggression. Agreed on further actions.”
“It is a real fight against good and evil. The challenge is so much bigger, and, of course, the world as [the Russian president] wants to change is not the world in which Jews and Israel want to live,” said Natan Sharansky.
U.S. President Joe Biden said that Americans will see rising prices, but made it a point to say that “defending freedom is going to cost.”
Unlike most other Western countries, Israel has maintained open lines of communication with Russian President Vladimir Putin while also supporting Ukraine during the Russian onslaught.
Bennett first spoke with Zelensky, where they spoke about “Russian aggression,” the Ukrainian leader said on Twitter.
Zvi Magen, a former Israeli ambassador to both Ukraine and Russia, and currently a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, said the Russian president’s main ambition is “to make Russia a global superpower.” That has implications for Israel.
Due to the sensitivity of the issue and Israel’s good working relationship with the two countries, officials are treading carefully to avoid appearance that they’re taking sides.
Former defense officials say the development is an indication of Moscow’s desire to back the sovereignty of Syrian President Bashar Assad and that this may not be good news for Iran; the messaging could also be relevant for current Russian-American tensions regarding Ukraine.
As talks between world powers continue in Vienna, the Israeli prime minister raised the importance of maintaining a strong stance against Tehran’s nuclear program.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas blamed Israeli policies for the possible explosion of violence.
