Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel, Yair Lapid, urged Russia to stop the military invasion of Ukraine.
According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry's website, he made this statement following a working meeting with Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu in Bucharest.
“I just concluded a working meeting with the Minister of foreign affairs of Romania, Aurescu, and now we are heading to Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă for an additional meeting on the situation in Europe and the questions regarding solving the refugee issue. After the meeting, I will come over to one of the refugee centers open by the European agency here, in Bucharest. From there, I am heading to the Siret border crossing where the representatives of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs are helping refugees leave Ukraine almost since the first day of warfare,” the Minister said.
Lapid noted that the Romanian government has already provided significant help in saving many Ukrainians.
“Jewish children from an asylum in Odessa, children with cancer, sent to Israel for treatment, and thousands of refugees who crossed the border at the Siret checkpoint - their lives were saved through cooperation between us. Thank you, my friend, and I thank the Government of Romania for your cooperation and goodwill. This is another proof of strong long-term friendship between our countries both in peacetime and in wartime," the Israeli minister added.
He stressed that he condemns Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
“As well as Romania, Israel condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It is unjustifiable, and we call on Russia to stop shellings and attacks and resolve this conflict at the negotiations table. Israel will do everything in its power to find a peaceful solution. We are working in full collaboration with our ally, the United States, and our European partners to try to end this brutal tragedy as soon as possible,” Lapid said.
Yesterday Volodymyr Zelensky continued talks on countering the Russian aggression with the Prime Minister of Israel, Naftali Bennett. President of Ukraine proposed to hold the negotiations with the President of the aggressor country, Vladimir Putin, in Jerusalem with Bennett’s mediation.
Lately, Bennett has been trying to play the mediator between Ukraine and Russia. He visited Moscow, where he had talks with Putin; he repeatedly talked with Zelenskyy. However, his efforts did not yield any specific results.
Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel condemned the Russian attack on the Jewish cemetery near Babyn Yar.