Sa’ar hosts Ukraine’s deputy PM in Jerusalem for meeting of bilateral economic commission

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar meets in Jerusalem with Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka, the most senior Ukrainian official to visit Israel since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Kachka is leading a delegation to convene meeting of the Israel–Ukraine Intergovernmental Economic Commission, the first since 2021.

According to Sa’ar’s office, the two discussed the war in Ukraine, and bilateral relations between Israel and Ukraine. Sa’ar says that Israel is “aware of the difficult times Ukraine is experiencing and of the suffering endured by the Ukrainian people.” He also pushes Ukraine to recognize Hamas and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as terrorist organizations.

They agree that joint Israel-Ukraine dialogue on the Iranian threat, which has been suspended since the Russian invasion, will resume shortly. Sa’ar announced the resumption during his visit to Kyiv in July without specifying a timeline.

While providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine, Jerusalem has pursued a relatively restrained response to the invasion due to Russia’s widespread military presence in Syria, Israel’s northern bellicose neighbor, and the need to balance security interests at home and policy abroad while maintaining relations with both Moscow and Kyiv. However, with the fall of the Russia-allied Bashar Assad regime in Syria last year, there has been a moderate warming of ties between Kyiv and Jerusalem.