Zelensky’s aide blames Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s inertia for UN vote against Israel

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Personal aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that the UN’s vote in Kyiv in November to refer the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the International Court of Justice in The Hague was a mistake that must be corrected.

Speaking at the Ukraine-Israel Innovation Summit in Warsaw, Oleksiy Arestovych blamed inertia within the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry for supporting the resolution, titled Israeli Practices and Settlement Activities Affecting the Rights of the Palestinian People and other Arabs from the occupied territories.

The Fourth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly voted in favor of the measure by a margin of 98 votes for, 17 against and 52 abstentions.

Two days after the November 11 vote, Arestovitch called kyiv’s position illogical and unacceptable.

Arestovych’s comments do not mean that Kyiv has decided to vote against the measure when it comes to a vote at the General Assembly later this month. A date has not yet been set, and this week Yevhen Korniychuk, Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, told The Times of Israel that it was too early to talk about kyiv’s position.

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Foreign Minister Oleksii Reznikov “was not involved” in Arestovitch’s statement on Wednesday, Korniychuk told The Times of Israel.

Opening of the Israeli-Ukrainian Innovation Summit alongside @arestovych @zeev_elkin and others. Discussing how Ukraine can become a greater Israel with its own face @IsraelinUkraine @IsraEconomy pic.twitter.com/k3H3KIGDRL

— Michael Brodsky (@michael_brodsk) December 14, 2022

“He is free to say what he wants, but our attention is elsewhere,” continued the diplomat.

A Ukrainian diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity told The Times of Israel this week that they personally asked a senior adviser to Prime Minister Yair Lapid and national security adviser Eyal Hulata to call their counterparts in Kyiv to oppose the measure before the vote in November. , but that the latter had ignored the request.

Lapid’s office told The Times of Israel that he does not comment on private diplomatic conversations.

National Security Advisor Eyal Hulata speaks during the annual Manama Dialogue conference in Bahrain on November 20, 2022. (Screenshot)

Asked about the report, an Israeli official said diplomats had been in contact with Zelensky’s office before the vote, but had not gone through the Ukrainian official in question.

Additionally, Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan approached his Ukrainian counterpart Sergiy Kyslytsya ahead of the Nov. 11 session.

Israel worked hard to try to move Ukraine forward on the issue ahead of the General Assembly vote. Lapid sent a letter to Zelensky asking him to object to the measure.

I spoke several times with several deputy ministers in Ukraine, including one face-to-face last week, regarding their vote in December, added Israel’s envoy to Ukraine Michael Brodsky, who leads Israel’s efforts to convince Kyiv to change its position.

Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky speaks to Lazar Berman of The Times of Israel in Kyiv, July 20, 2022 (Embassy of Israel to Ukraine)

We absolutely delivered the message more than once, he said.

Brodsky also conducted a series of interviews in Ukrainian media expressing disappointment with Jerusalem.

After the vote, he voiced his criticism on Twitter, saying Ukraine’s support for the UN resolution denying Jewish ties to the Temple Mount and calling for the ICJ’s advisory opinion is hugely disappointing.

Supporting anti-Israel initiatives at the UN does not help build trust between countries, the ambassador said.

At the Warsaw conference on Wednesday, Brodsky raised the idea of ​​Israel helping to build an ‘economic iron dome’ for Ukraine, using the Jewish state’s experience in creating a resilient economy. while security threats hover at its borders.

The Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly votes on measures regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at the United Nations in New York, November 11, 2022. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

The envoy will return to Kyiv next week to hand over 20 powerful electricity generators.

Ukraine has repeatedly requested military aid and equipment from Israel to combat Russia’s assault on the country since late February. While providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine, Israel has maintained a strict policy of not providing military aid, including systems that could help it intercept Russian missile and drone attacks.

The reasoning behind the decision appears to be Israel’s strategic need to maintain freedom of operations in Syria, as part of its efforts to prevent Iranian entrenchment on its doorstep. To this end, Israel is cooperating with the Russian military, which largely controls Syrian airspace. Israeli officials also expressed concern that advanced military technology could fall into enemy hands and cited production and supply limitations.

Last month, Zelensky called on Israel to stop balancing its relations between Ukraine and Russia, as he issued a new appeal for Jerusalem to provide military aid to Kyiv.

Whether [Netanyahu] just wants to maintain his personal relationship with President Putin, so of course he can continue to do what he has been doing, Zelensky said. But if he wants to maintain the historic relationship between Israel and the Ukrainian people, then I think you have to do everything you can to save as many people as possible.

Israeli politics told directly

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