Report: No Israeli Sanctions on Russia

Israel currently has no plans to join the U.S.-led sanctions on Russia, according to The Times of Israel quoting senior Israeli officials on Tuesday.

The report comes a day after Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said that “Israel will not be a route to bypass sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and other Western countries.”

In response, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss tweeted that she welcomes “news from Yair Lapid that Israel will support sanctions against Russia.”

The officials are saying that what Lapid meant was that Israel will not allow banks and other entities to let their services be used to hide assets under sanction.

“We are putting in place measures that will make sure this can’t be a place where people can basically find their way around,” said one senior official. “You won’t be able to cheat sanctions.”

However, existing law does not allow for Israeli sanctions on assets and citizens of a state that is not legally defined as an enemy country. In the case of Russia, though Israel has condemned its invasion of Ukraine, it continues to maintain a substantial neutrality (for example, by not sending arms to Ukraine) and trying mediate between the two sides for a ceasefire.

Much ado was made about the departure from Israel for Istanbul and Moscow of Russian-Israeli oligarch Roman Abramovich on Monday, but unless there is an arrest warrant out for him and other sanctioned persons, they cannot be prevented from being in the country, nor can the state legally confiscate their property.

The issue is fraught with political ramifications, as the U.S. has been openly pressuring Israel to join the sanctions regime. In this, as in other Ukraine-related matters, Israel has been trying to walk a thin line of showing support for Kyiv while avoiding antagonizing Moscow, cognizant of the delicate coordination with Russian forces in Syria and the vulnerability of Jewish communities in both Ukraine and Russia in the conflict.

Meanwhile, following media reports that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had not returned his Israeli counterpart’s phone calls for several days, the two spoke on Tuesday.

Kuleba was thought to be angry over Israel’s carefully balanced support for Ukraine, including a refusal to send military aid, although he has made no mention of his hard-to-get approach in public comments.

Lapid described the conversation as “long and positive.”

“The minister thanked Israel for our mediation efforts and our position on the matter of sanctions,” Lapid tweeted, adding that he updated him on the “humanitarian aid that Israel has already sent to Ukraine and on the field hospital that Israel is sending.”

He also wrote that “Kuleba also welcomed our policy for absorbing refugees,” and that the agreed to keep in touch.

Kuleba also tweeted afterward, saying that Lapid “assured me Israel won’t be the route for Russia to bypass sanctions.” Lapid made a statement to that effect on Monday during a trip to Slovakia.