UK fetes Israel for backing sanctions after Lapid vows no safe harbor for oligarchs

The UK’s top diplomat is welcoming news that Israel apparently will back sanctions against Russia, after Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announced that the country would not give haven to Russian oligarchs seeking to evade Western penalties in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

“Welcome news from @YairLapid that Israel will support sanctions against Russia. We are working with our allies and partners to apply pressure on Putin and challenge his unprovoked and needless attack on Ukraine,:” tweets Liz Truss. She attaches a tweet by an Israeli reporter claiming that Lapid committed to comply with international sanctions.

Welcome news from @YairLapid that Israel will support sanctions against Russia.????????
We are working with our allies and partners to apply pressure on Putin and challenge his unprovoked and needless attack on Ukraine. https://t.co/FIgMLC0Dqw

— Liz Truss (@trussliz) March 14, 2022

In actuality, Lapid only said that Israel would not harbor rich Russians seeking to avoid sanctions from the US and other unspecified countries. After he spoke, oligarch Russian Abramovich, an Israeli citizen targeted by the sanctions, left Israel, where he arrived less than a day earlier.

“Israel will not be a route to bypass sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and other Western countries,” Lapid said. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is coordinating the issue together with partners, including the Bank of Israel, the Finance Ministry, the Economy Ministry, the Airports Authority, the Energy Ministry, and others.”