According to a new report on Kan News, the U.S. Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, utilized a telephone meeting between Israel's Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, to convey various messages to the Russian Foreign Minister.
Blinken was informed in advance of Cohen's planned conversation with Lavrov, and decided to make use of the opportunity.
During their conversation, Lavrov congratulated Cohen on his appointment as Foreign Minister and the two discussed various bilateral issues. Cohen then raised the topic of the Russian Jewish community and the number of Russian Jews now in Israel, and stressed the importance of ensuring good relations between the two countries.
Cohen is expected to speak with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dymtro Kuleba, in the near future. Kuleba may be expected to comment on a recent statement by Cohen indicating that while Israeli policy vis-a-vis the Russia-Ukraine conflict will remain unchanged, Israeli leaders will be talking about it much less.
"On the issue of Russia and Ukraine, we will do one thing for sure: Publicly, we'll be talking less. We will prepare a detailed reference from the Foreign Ministry to the Cabinet in order to formulate a responsible policy. In any case, our significant humanitarian aid to Ukraine will continue," Cohen said.
Meanwhile, calls to find a way to end the conflict are increasing as the first anniversary of the Russian invasion approaches. In a recent article in The Spectator, Henry Kissinger laid out his vision for a possible cease-fire, one which would demand significant compromises to be made on both sides.
"A peace process should link Ukraine to NATO," Kissinger writes, given that Finland and Sweden have already joined. He recommends "a ceasefire line along the borders existing where the war started on February 24. Russia would disgorge its conquests thence, but not the territory it occupied nearly a decade ago, including Crimea. That territory could be the subject of a negotiation after a ceasefire."
With regard to the ethnically mixed Donbas region, Kissinger suggests "internationally supervised referendums" permitting the residents self-determination. He also notes that while the "preferred outcome for some is a Russia rendered impotent by the way," he disagrees, due to the necessity of recognizing the country's contribution to the balance of power.