Blinken Asks Israeli Foreign Minister to Convey Message to Lavrov

The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has asked Israel's new Foreign Minister Eli Cohen to convey a message to Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“Yesterday, Blinken requested Cohen to relay messages to Lavrov, but did not specify what they pertained to,” the Times of Israel reported, referring to the Israeli diplomat.

At the same time, the article notes that Kyiv would prefer Cohen to first communicate with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba. “As a result, there is a likelihood that Kuleba may refuse to speak with Cohen in the foreseeable future,” the media outlet wrote.

It is worth mentioning that Israel's new Foreign Minister Eli Cohen has stated that he had a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on January 3. During the conversation, the diplomats discussed bilateral relations between their countries and also spoke about regional issues.