Amid tensions, Netanyahu and Zelensky to meet on sidelines of the UN

According to Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk, the meeting comes amid surging tensions over several issues between the two countries. 

By World Israel News Staff

A meeting is slated to take place between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk said.

This development follows a recent phone conversation between the two leaders, amid surging tensions that have cast a shadow on bilateral ties between the two nations. According to Korniychuk, who relayed the information to the Ynet news site, the disagreement ranges over several issues including Jerusalem’s sustained refusal to provide weaponry to Kyiv as well as its close ties with Russia, illustrated most recently with a cinema deal signed last week.

The Ukrainian Embassy in Israel on Thursday slammed an agreement between the Jewish state and Russia signed a day earlier to boost collaboration between the countries’ respective film industries, saying it Jerusalem was aiding Moscow in its propaganda attempts.

The diplomatic relations have further soured due to differing stances on the treatment of Ukrainian refugees and Jewish pilgrims set to visit a Jewish holy site in Uman, Ukraine over the upcoming Rosh Hashanah weekend.

Ukraine has threatened Israel it would shut its borders to Israeli pilgrims in response to Israel’s deportation of Ukrainian tourists.

“It is unthinkable that we would have to go out of our way to host tens of thousands of Israelis in Uman, with a high security risk and a huge logistical effort, while the Israeli government abuses our citizens who come to Israel within the framework of a treaty between the two countries,” Korniychuk said last month.