Former Israeli prime minister and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu has called on Vladimir Putin to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
During his time in office, Mr Netanyahu was widely regarded as having close ties to Mr Putin while expanding Israel-Russia trade, despite Russia’s alliances with Israel’s rivals Iran and Syria.
Mr Putin’s decision to go to war in Ukraine was “guided by his vision of reconstituting a great Russian realm”, Mr Netanyahu said. He hoped the Russian leader was “having second thoughts about it”, he said in an interview with USA Today.
“We all have sympathy to Ukraine, it’s not even a question, and I’m no different,” he said.
Mr Netanyahu has often spoken of Mr Putin as a “friend”. The two leaders closely coordinated during tensions arising from the Syrian war, when Israel began a bombing campaign against Iranian weapons in Syria despite the presence of Russian forces, who were backing Syrian leader Bashar Al Assad.
During a 2017 summit in Moscow, Mr Netanyahu released a statement on the two leaders' meetings which “reflect genuine friendship and a tightening of relations in economics, technology, tourism and culture, as well as the living bridge of the one million Russian speakers living in Israel”.
Since Mr Netanyahu left office last year, Israel has sought not to antagonise Russia in the Ukraine conflict, with ministers pointing to the importance of continuing military co-ordination over the skies of Syria, as well as Israel’s ties with Russia’s Jewish community.
Ukraine has been asking for more Israeli assistance, especially since Russia began purchasing and deploying drones from Iran, an important Israeli regional foe.
Israel has so far resisted calls from the US, Ukraine and others to supply Ukraine with offensive and defensive weapons, and has instead supported Ukraine with humanitarian aid, helmets and flak jackets.
Following public revelations that Russia is using Iranian drones in Ukraine, Israel’s defence minister, Benny Gantz, said Israel is “following Iran’s involvement in the war”. He said that Iran “may also provide additional advanced systems” to Russia in the near future.
Israel’s former prime minister, Naftali Bennett, had attempted to mediate between Russia and Ukraine in the early days of the conflict when he flew to Moscow to meet Mr Putin. Mr Bennett’s successor, Yair Lapid, has taken a more critical stance towards the invasion, drawing sharp criticism from Russia.
UAE Tour 2020
Stage 1: The Pointe Palm Jumeirah - Dubai Silicon Oasis, 148km
Stage 2: Hatta - Hatta Dam, 168km
Stage 3: Al Qudra Cycle Track - Jebel Hafeet, 184km
Stage 4: Zabeel Park - Dubai City Walk, 173km
Stage 5: Al Ain - Jebel Hafeet, 162km
Stage 6: Al Ruwais - Al Mirfa, 158km
Stage 7: Al Maryah Island - Abu Dhabi Breakwater, 127km
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
The bio
Favourite vegetable: Broccoli
Favourite food: Seafood
Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange
Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania
Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.
Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes
Five films to watch
Castle in the Sky (1986)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Only Yesterday (1991)
Pom Poki (1994)
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
A Long Way Home by Peter Carey
Faber & Faber
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
MATCH INFO
Sheffield United 0 Wolves 2 (Jimenez 3', Saiss 6)
Man of the Match Romain Saiss (Wolves)
