Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid told reporters in Romania Monday that “Israel will not be a route to bypass sanctions imposed on Russia.” The diplomat specifically mentioned sanctions by the United States and other Western countries on Russian entities in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Israel’s financial, aviation and energy authorities are currently coordinating on the issue, according to Lapid.
Israel itself has refrained from imposing its own sanctions. This is partly out of a desire to maintain friendly relations with Russia, which has a major military presence in neighboring Syria. Israel also may lack the legal framework to impose sanctions, Rina Bassist wrote for Al-Monitor. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has also been negotiating an end to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
