Israel’s Netanyahu discusses cooperation with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) – New Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to his office on Saturday.

Netanyahu’s office said the contact took place on Friday before a UN General Assembly vote seeking opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.

Zelenskyy tweeted that he discussed with Netanyahu “bilateral cooperation between our states, including in the security sphere and interaction on international platforms.”

According to The Jerusalem Post newspaper, the two leaders also discussed "Ukraine's outline for ending the war" with Russia.

Early on Saturday, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution seeking the ICJ opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories.

The resolution was backed by 87 countries of the UN General Assembly members against 26. Ukraine abstained from the vote.

The resolution calls on the ICJ to determine the "legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination" as well as of its measures "aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status" of the holy city of Jerusalem.

On Feb. 24, Russia launched a war on Ukraine, which was met with international outrage, with the European Union, G-7, US, and UK among others imposing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

The Knesset (Israel’s parliament) granted confidence to Netanyahu’s new government on Thursday.

Zelenskyy congratulated Netanyahu on assuming power and confirmed his country's "readiness for close cooperation to strengthen" their bilateral ties.