The complex relationship between Jerusalem and Kiev will come to the fore next week when Poroshenko arrives for a state visit.
By Herb Keinon
January 17, 2019 21:34
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT Petro Poroshenko and his Israeli counterpart Reuven
Rivlin walk past honor guards during a welcoming ceremony in Kiev,
Ukraine, in 2016.
(photo credit: GLEB GARANICH / REUTERS)
When Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko sits down in Jerusalem on
Monday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, they will definitely talk
about trade, certainly talk about the situation in the region, and
likely discuss Russia.
For, as the standing joke goes in Kiev, with Russia deeply entrenched in Syria, both Israel and Ukraine have their own problems with their Russian neighbor.
The two leaders might also talk about something else they have in common: elections. Both men are facing elections within the next three months: Netanyahu on April 9, and Poroshenko on March 30. As incumbent leaders benefit from looking “presidential” in the midst of an election campaign – dealing with matters of high diplomacy covered in the media, as their opponents scramble for issues to get them airtime – this particular photo opportunity is beneficial for both of them.
For, as the standing joke goes in Kiev, with Russia deeply entrenched in Syria, both Israel and Ukraine have their own problems with their Russian neighbor.
The two leaders might also talk about something else they have in common: elections. Both men are facing elections within the next three months: Netanyahu on April 9, and Poroshenko on March 30. As incumbent leaders benefit from looking “presidential” in the midst of an election campaign – dealing with matters of high diplomacy covered in the media, as their opponents scramble for issues to get them airtime – this particular photo opportunity is beneficial for both of them.
They could also conceivably talk about Russian meddling in elections –
especially following the statement by Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency)
director Nadav Argaman last week saying that a foreign country is trying
to influence Israel’s balloting through its cyber capabilities. While
the identity of the country was not revealed, it was widely assumed to
be Russia. And if the Russians have an interest in meddling in the
Israeli election, they certainly have an even greater stake in the
outcome of the elections in Ukraine. In fact, a task force of NGOs was
established in Kiev in September comprised of experts in disinformation
and cybersecurity to monitor possible interference and raise the alarm
if they detect outside meddling.
Unlike Netanyahu, whose poll figures remain strong despite fraud, bribery and breach of trust allegations against him, Poroshenko’s situation in the polls is far less sanguine.
Polling has him trailing Yulia Tymoshenko, the veteran Ukrainian politician and former leader of the Orange Revolution once easily recognizable by a distinctive braided coiffure; and the newest entry into the race, Jewish comedian Vladimir Zelensky.
Zelensky, who stars in a popular television comedy about a high school teacher who becomes president of Ukraine after a video of him ranting about government corruption goes viral, stunned the country at the beginning of the year when he said he wants reality to imitate art, and threw his hat into the presidential ring. He is reportedly being backed by the billionaire Ukrainian-Israeli oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi.
Jerusalem would be comfortable with any of those candidates, according to diplomatic officials, and could work well with any of them. This is a marked change from two years ago when ties between the two countries nose-dived following Ukraine’s vote in the UN Security Council for Resolution 2334, which slammed Israel for its settlement policies and said that its presence beyond the Green Line, including in east Jerusalem, violates international law.
Just a year earlier, during Poroshenko’s first visit here as president, he addressed the Knesset and said that the most important element in deepening bilateral ties between the two countries was Ukraine’s election to the Security Council for the years 2016-2017.
“I promise that while holding this esteemed position, Ukraine will be an advocate of peace and justice all over the world, including the Middle East,” he stated. And then in 2017 Ukraine voted for the resolution, which the US pointedly did not veto, causing a mini-crisis in Israeli-Ukrainian ties. The White House reportedly called Poroshenko and pressed him to vote for the measure.
Israel vented its anger against Kiev by canceling a scheduled visit of Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman. The rift was healed a few months later, however, when Groysman did make the visit.
Disappointment about how the other side votes at the UN, however, is a two-way street, and Ukraine also has had cause for disappointment for Israel’s failure to vote against Russia’s annexation of Crimea and for Ukraine at the UN. In his Knesset speech in 2015, Poroshenko urged Israeli politicians to “present their position regarding Ukraine more clearly.”
In 2014, the US was reportedly furious at Israel for not voting for a resolution condemning Russia for its annexation of Crimea. That vote passed 100-11, with 58 abstentions. Israel did not show up for the vote, and the reason given at the time was that the Foreign Ministry was on strike.
It took a couple years, but Israel altered course in December, voting with Ukraine on a General Assembly resolution calling for an end to Russia’s occupation and militarization of Crimea.
Unlike Netanyahu, whose poll figures remain strong despite fraud, bribery and breach of trust allegations against him, Poroshenko’s situation in the polls is far less sanguine.
Polling has him trailing Yulia Tymoshenko, the veteran Ukrainian politician and former leader of the Orange Revolution once easily recognizable by a distinctive braided coiffure; and the newest entry into the race, Jewish comedian Vladimir Zelensky.
Zelensky, who stars in a popular television comedy about a high school teacher who becomes president of Ukraine after a video of him ranting about government corruption goes viral, stunned the country at the beginning of the year when he said he wants reality to imitate art, and threw his hat into the presidential ring. He is reportedly being backed by the billionaire Ukrainian-Israeli oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi.
Jerusalem would be comfortable with any of those candidates, according to diplomatic officials, and could work well with any of them. This is a marked change from two years ago when ties between the two countries nose-dived following Ukraine’s vote in the UN Security Council for Resolution 2334, which slammed Israel for its settlement policies and said that its presence beyond the Green Line, including in east Jerusalem, violates international law.
Just a year earlier, during Poroshenko’s first visit here as president, he addressed the Knesset and said that the most important element in deepening bilateral ties between the two countries was Ukraine’s election to the Security Council for the years 2016-2017.
“I promise that while holding this esteemed position, Ukraine will be an advocate of peace and justice all over the world, including the Middle East,” he stated. And then in 2017 Ukraine voted for the resolution, which the US pointedly did not veto, causing a mini-crisis in Israeli-Ukrainian ties. The White House reportedly called Poroshenko and pressed him to vote for the measure.
Israel vented its anger against Kiev by canceling a scheduled visit of Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman. The rift was healed a few months later, however, when Groysman did make the visit.
Disappointment about how the other side votes at the UN, however, is a two-way street, and Ukraine also has had cause for disappointment for Israel’s failure to vote against Russia’s annexation of Crimea and for Ukraine at the UN. In his Knesset speech in 2015, Poroshenko urged Israeli politicians to “present their position regarding Ukraine more clearly.”
In 2014, the US was reportedly furious at Israel for not voting for a resolution condemning Russia for its annexation of Crimea. That vote passed 100-11, with 58 abstentions. Israel did not show up for the vote, and the reason given at the time was that the Foreign Ministry was on strike.
It took a couple years, but Israel altered course in December, voting with Ukraine on a General Assembly resolution calling for an end to Russia’s occupation and militarization of Crimea.
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