New Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held telephone talks.
"I just finished a conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, who called to congratulate me on taking office. We discussed a number of bilateral and regional issues, relations between countries," Cohen wrote on Twitter.
As reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, the ministers discussed the strengthening of trade and economic cooperation, the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the Palestinian-Israeli settlement. Lavrov also told Cohen about the progress of Russia's military operation on the territory of Ukraine.
Cohen officially assumed the position of the head of the Israeli Foreign Ministry on January 2. He succeeded Yair Lapid. In his speech at the minister's changeover ceremony, Cohen, commenting on the department's policy regarding the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, noted that there will be less public talk about the war now, but significant humanitarian aid to Kyiv will continue.
Kyiv has repeatedly criticized the Israeli authorities for refusing to supply weapons to Ukraine. Israel, in turn, claims that the requested weapons are intended for the domestic market.
Israeli media also noted that the authorities fear that any military supplies to Ukraine will negatively affect relations with Russia and will limit Israel's freedom of action in relation to attacks on Iranian positions in Syria.