As the crisis between Israel and Russia continues, Russia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed Israel on Tuesday during a TV interview.

Zakharova claimed during the interview that the issues with the Jewish Agency are legal ones and are not politically biased. She then continued by criticizing Israel for its stance on Ukraine as being “unhelpful.”

“The statements coming out of Israel are biased and completely unconstructive,” Zakharova said. “When anti-Russian assessments are given by the Israeli leadership at different levels, and when the policy is pro-Ukrainian and in favor of the regime in Kyiv – it raises questions.”

Some officials, Israeli and otherwise, blame Prime Minister Yair Lapid for the crisis, Unlike former prime ministers Binyamin Netanyahu and Naftali Bennett, who spoke directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin on many occasions, Lapid has not spoken to Putin since he entered office.

Additionally, his accusations that Russia is committing war crimes before he entered office seems to have been at least one of the causes of the current crisis.

Critics also blame Lapid for Israel’s crisis in ties with Poland last year in the wake of its changes to property restitution regulations. Lapid did not mince words on that occasion as well, severely censuring the Polish government. Later, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Israel was forced to mend ties with Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine, since it needed its cooperation in assisting Israeli-Ukrainian refugees.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)