Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks at a press conference on April 26, 2022, following a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Moscow, Russia. REUTERS / File Photo by Maxim Shipenkov / Pool
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May 3 (Reuters) – Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday accused Israel of backing neo – Nazis in Ukraine, sparking an uproar that began when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Adolf Hitler was of Jewish descent.
On Monday, Israel said Lavrov’s comment was an “unforgivable” lie that sought to reduce the Holocaust – the massacre of 6 million European Jews and other minority groups by Nazi Germany. read more
Leaders of several Western countries condemned Lavrov, asking how Russia was following in the footsteps of President Volodymyr Zhelensky when he “was a Jew” and “decimated” Ukraine. Zhelensky, a parliamentary democracy, accused Russia of forgetting the lessons of World War II.
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The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s comments were “unhistorical” and “explain to a large extent why the current Israeli government supports the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev.”
Moscow reiterated Lavrov’s view that Jelensky’s Jewish origins did not prevent Ukraine from being run by the Nazis.
“Religious bigotry is not stopped in everyday life and politics, but is nurtured (in Ukraine),” it said in a statement.
Israel has expressed support for Ukraine following the Russian invasion in February. But the ruling party in neighboring Syria was wary of damaging relations with Russia, which initially avoided directly criticizing Moscow and did not impose formal sanctions on Russian oligarchs.
However, relations have been further strained by Labyrinth’s accusations last month that Russia committed war crimes in Ukraine.
“After the Kremlin said that Israel supports Nazism, I have only one question. Is there any non – Nazi country in the world from Russia’s point of view? On Tuesday, Moscow referred to the countries that supported what Moscow calls its “special operation” in Ukraine.
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Report by Reuters; Edited by Guy Balkanbridge, Raiza Kasolovsky and Mark Heinrich
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