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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s personal aide said on Wednesday that Kyiv’s vote at the United Nations in November to refer the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the International Court of Justice in The Hague was a “mistake” that needed to be corrected.
Speaking at the Ukraine-Israel Innovation Summit in Warsaw, Oleksiy Arestovich blamed inertia in the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry for supporting the resolution titled “Israeli Practices and Settlement Activities Affecting the Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs in the Occupied Territories.”
The Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly voted in favor of the measure by a margin of 98 for, 17 against and 52 abstentions.
Two days after the Nov. 11 vote, Arestovich called Kyiv’s position “illogical and unacceptable.”
Arestovich’s comments do not mean Kyiv has decided to vote against the measure when it comes up for a vote in the General Assembly later this month. A date has not yet been set, and this week Yevgeny Korniychuk, Ukraine’s ambassador to Israel, told The Times of Israel that it was too early to talk about Kyiv’s position.
Foreign Minister Oleksiy Reznikov “was not involved” in Arestovich’s statement on Wednesday, Korniychuk told The Times of Israel.
Opening of the Israel-Ukraine Innovation Summit together @arestovych @zeev_elkin and other. They discuss how Ukraine can become a “big Israel with its own face” @IsraelinUkraine @IsraEconomy pic.twitter.com/k3H3KIGDRL
— Michael Brodsk (@michael_brodsk) December 14, 2022
“He is free to say what he wants, but our focus is elsewhere,” the diplomat continued.
A Ukrainian diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Times of Israel this week that they personally asked Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s senior adviser and National Security Adviser Eyal Hulata to urge their counterparts in Kyiv to oppose the measure ahead of the vote in November, but the latter ignored the request.
Lapid’s office told The Times of Israel that it does not comment on private diplomatic conversations.
National Security Adviser Eyal Khulata speaks at the annual Bahrain Dialogue Conference in Manama on November 20, 2022 (Screenshot)
Asked about the report, an Israeli official said diplomats contacted Zelensky’s office before the vote but did not go through the Ukrainian official in question.
In addition, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, contacted his Ukrainian counterpart, Serhiy Kislitsa, ahead of the November 11 session.
Israel has been working hard trying to move Ukraine on the issue before the General Assembly vote. Lapid sent a letter to Zelensky asking him to oppose the measure.
“I have spoken several times with several deputy ministers in Ukraine, including one face-to-face last week, about their vote in December,” added Israel’s envoy to Ukraine Michael Brodsky, who is leading Israel’s efforts to persuade Kyiv to change its position.
Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky speaks to The Times of Israel’s Lazar Berman in Kyiv, July 20, 2022. (Embassy of Israel in Ukraine)
“We absolutely got the message across more than once,” he said.
Brodsky also gave a series of interviews to Ukrainian media expressing Jerusalem’s frustration.
After the vote, he expressed his criticism on Twitter, saying that “Ukraine’s support for the UN resolution … denying Jewish links to the Temple Mount and calling for an IC advisory opinion is extremely disappointing.”
“Supporting anti-Israel initiatives at the UN does not help build trust” between the countries, the ambassador said.
At the conference in Warsaw 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 sustainable economy while security threats lurk beyond its borders.
The Fourth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly votes on measures to address 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 power generators.
Since late February, Ukraine has repeatedly requested military aid and equipment from Israel to repel a Russian attack on the country. While providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine, Israel maintains a strict policy of not providing military aid, including systems that could help it intercept Russian missiles and drone attacks.
The reason for 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 cooperates with the Russian military, which largely controls Syria’s airspace. Israeli officials also expressed fears that advanced military technology could fall into enemy hands and cited production and supply constraints.
Last month, Zelensky called on Israel to stop “balancing” its relationship between Ukraine and Russia, issuing a new call for Jerusalem to provide Kyiv with military aid.
“If [Netanyahu] he just wants to maintain his personal relationship with President Putin, then of course he can continue to do what he has been doing so far,” Zelensky said. “But if he wants to preserve the historical relationship between Israel and the Ukrainian people, then I think you should do everything you can to save as many people as possible.”
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