Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said on Sunday that his government is studying a Ukrainian request for military assistance, Isreali media reported.
According to the Israeli Public Broadcaster Man, Lapid spoke with Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova in Jerusalem. During the meeting, Lapid expressed his concern over Ukraine’s tensions with Russia and updated her on travel warnings to Israelis in her country.
Lapid met with Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova and expressed concern about the Ukraine crisis pic.twitter.com/lKUNBeOfIo
— Lahav Harkov (@LahavHarkov) February 13, 2022
The Times of Israel reported him saying that Israel is preparing for the possibility of evacuating Israelis and Jews from Ukraine by land to the West.
Neighboring countries including Moldova, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania responded positively to Israeli consultations about the possibility of evacuating Israelis to their soils.
נפגשי כעת עם סגנית שר החוץ של אוקריאנה, אמינה ג'אפרובה והבעתי דאגה מהמשבר המסלים באוקריאנה. עדכנתי את סגנית השר על ההחלטה לפרסם אזהרת מסע והבעתי תקווה שההסלמה תיבלם בעקבות מגעים דיפלומטיים בהובלתה של ארה"ב. pic.twitter.com/Ci9peGgCI0
— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid🟠 (@yairlapid) February 13, 2022
According to Lapid, 6,050 Israelis in Ukraine have registered to receive updates from the ministry via text message.
“Part of our task is to protect them, and that requires us to be more cautious in such a conflict,” Lapid said.
“But Israel’s position, like that of the West, is clear: We must do everything in order to avoid armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine.”
Lapid also said, according to the Jerusalem Post, that Israel has already discussed with Kyiv a contingency plan to open a second diplomatic office in Lviv to facilitate the evacuation of Israelis by land.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
