Russia has reiterated Lavrov’s statements that Zelensky’s Jewish origins do not rule out the possibility that Ukraine is being ruled by neo-Nazis.
(Photo: IMAGO/ITAR-TASS)
Berlin Russia follows up the dispute with Israel over Hitler’s statements by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The Foreign Ministry in Moscow on Tuesday accused Israel of supporting neo-Nazis in Ukraine.
Only on Sunday did Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov cause outrage and sharp criticism with a Nazi comparison in relation to the Ukraine war in Israel and numerous Western countries.
In an Italian TV interview, when asked about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Lavrov said that Hitler was also of Jewish descent. The fact that Zelensky is a Jew is therefore not a counter-argument to the Russian justification for the invasion that Ukraine must be denazified. Israel’s Foreign Minister Jair Lapid spoke on Monday of an “unforgivable, scandalous statement” and “a terrible historical error” and demanded an apology.
The Russian ministry now said on Tuesday that Lapid’s recent comments were “anti-historical” and go a long way towards explaining why the current Israeli government supports the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv. Anti-Semitism is encouraged in Ukraine.
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In addition, the statement reiterated Lavrov’s statements that Zelensky’s Jewish origins do not rule out the possibility that Ukraine is being governed by neo-Nazis. Russia had already declared at the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine on February 24 that the country had to be cleansed and liberated from “Nazis”. Lapid said on Monday that the Ukrainians were not Nazis. “Only the Nazis were Nazis and only they were concerned with the systematic annihilation of the Jewish people.”
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Israel initially avoided direct criticism of Moscow so as not to jeopardize relations with Russia. In April, however, Lapid accused Russia of having committed war crimes in Ukraine.
More: Israel criticizes Lavrov for Nazi comparison – good relationship with Russia threatens to collapse