Israel has attempted to maintain good relations with both Russia and Ukraine during the crisis, and has even offered to serve as a mediator. But that fence-sitting has resulted in criticism from both sides and now from the United States.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and Foreign Ministry had been claiming for weeks that the Biden administration understood Israel's need to calibrate its reaction to the Russian invasion in order to maintain its security coordination with Russia in Syria.
But Israel dragged its feet as the US was gathering co-sponsors for the resolution and did not provide a clear answer before the meeting began. Most close US allies and partners did back the resolution.
After the vote, which Russia vetoed, Thomas-Greenfield passed a message to the Israeli Ambassador, Gilad Erdan stressing the Biden administration’s disappointment.
Eleven (11) Security Council members voted in favor of the resolution, three (China, the United Arab Emirates and India) abstained, and Russia was the lone "no" vote.
An Israeli foreign ministry official said the decision not to accept the US request to co-sponsor the resolution was due to the fact that Israel is not a member of the UN Security Council and it was clear Russia would veto.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid told Israel's Security Cabinet that the US contained the Israeli refusal to join the resolution.
“We speak to the Biden administration in a wide range of channels on various aspects of the Ukrainian issue and the bottom line is that our partners are well aware of our considerations," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Haiat told Axios.
The UN General Assembly was expected to convene as early as Monday to vote on a resolution condemning Russia. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid told the Cabinet that Israel would vote in favor.
