Israel, Ukraine healing rift from Security Council vote

Ukraine was one of 14 countries that voted for the resolutions, which slammed the settlements as a major obstacle to peace and as lacking “legal validity."

By HERB KEINON
Updated: FEBRUARY 2, 2017 11:07
PRESIDENT REUVEN RIVLIN walks with his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, during a welcoming ceremony in Kiev last September. (photo credit: REUTERS)
PRESIDENT REUVEN RIVLIN walks with his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, during a welcoming ceremony in Kiev last September.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday in a sign that Jerusalem’s anger with Kiev over its support in December for UN Security Council Resolution 2334 was subsiding.
The Prime Minister’s Office issued a statement saying that Poroshenko phoned Netanyahu, and “the two leaders agreed to resume their efforts to further strengthen the friendship between Israel and the Ukraine. Among other things, they discussed rescheduling the visit of Prime Minister [Volodymyr] Groysman to Israel.”
Ukraine was one of 14 countries that voted for the resolutions, which slammed the settlements as a major obstacle to peace and as lacking “legal validity,” and soon after the vote, Israel canceled a visit Groysman had planned for a few days later.
Israel also recalled its ambassadors to Senegal and New Zealand, which were among the countries that sponsored the resolution. In addition, Jerusalem ended aid projects to Angola, another country which voted for the measure, and curtailed aid to Senegal.
According to diplomatic officials, Israel’s ties with those countries are also slowly starting to return to normal, although there has not yet been any official announcement of a return of the ambassadors.
One diplomatic official said that the steps taken against Ukraine, Senegal, New Zealand and Angola were designed to send a clear message about Israel’s anger and signal various countries around the world that Israel would begin extracting a price for countries that vote against it in critical international forums.
That message, one government official said on Wednesday amid talk of rescheduling Groysman visit, has been sent.