Russia summons Israeli envoy for 'unacceptable comments' over war
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Simona Halperin has accused Lavrov of being too nice to the Palestinian Resistance group Hamas.
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A view of the Russian Foreign Ministry building at sunrise in Moscow, Russia on Jan. 18, 2024. (AP)
The Russian ministry has been cited by the TASS news agency on Monday as saying that Russia's Foreign Ministry will summon Israeli ambassador Simona Halperin for "unacceptable comments" made in an interview for the local Kommersant daily on Sunday.
The Ministry said the Israeli envoy misrepresented the country's foreign policy, calling her comments "an extremely unsuccessful start" to her diplomatic position, given that she only began her post last December.
During the interview, Halperin criticized Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for allegedly undermining the Holocaust and said Russia was being too nice to the Palestinian Resistance group Hamas.
According to Haaretz, Halperin said, during the interview, that Russia was losing credibility in "Israel", saying "Russia's position worries and depresses me. Because of it, your country is losing the sympathy of Israelis, including Russian speakers."
Read more: Russia does not welcome further destabilization in ME: Kremlin
Delegation domino
This is not Halperin's first time vocally criticizing Russia for its stance in the war on Gaza.
After a Hamas delegation headed by Mousa Abu Marzouq, the deputy head of the political bureau, visited Moscow on October 26, Halperin - serving as the foreign ministry's deputy director general for Eurasian affairs at the time - told the Russian ambassador to "Israel" Anatoly Viktorov that "Israel views with the utmost seriousness the lack of unequivocal and clear condemnation by Moscow of the Hamas terrorist organization, as well as Russia's actions in international organizations."
The Ministry condemned Moscow for receiving a delegation of the Palestinian movement to discuss the release of captives held by al-Qassam Brigades and the evacuation of Russian citizens from the Gaza Strip and demanded its immediate expulsion from Russia.
Just ten days ago, a delegation from the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement headed by the party's spokesperson Mohammad Abdul Salam visited Russia to discuss current regional developments amid the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza and the military escalations in the Red Sea.
