Israel rejects Zelenskyy's request to visit together with Blinken, says it’s ‘not the right time’ for joint visit
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The Israeli turned down a request by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to visit Israel at the same time as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week, local outlet Ynet reported on Oct. 16.
Israel made it clear to Kyiv that a Zelenskyy visit to the country was "not on the agenda" at the moment. At the same time, the head of state might visit Israel as part of his next visit to Europe, the newspaper writes.
Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv on Oct. 16 for the second time in the last week for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to CNN, one of the reasons for the visit may be the evacuation of U.S. citizens from the Gaza Strip.
Blinken visited Israel on Oct. 12 for the first time since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, and announced that the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt would be opened to allow foreigners to leave the besieged Palestinian sector, although as of Oct. 16, Netanyahu's office had not confirmed this.
On Oct. 11, Ynet wrote that Zelenskyy had asked the Israeli government to explore the possibility of his making a visit to Israel. The first contacts have begun between the relevant departments of the two countries.
After the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants, Zelenskyy expressed solidarity with Israel, saying that terror should not be given a chance anywhere in the world. The head of state also said that Hamas had acted in the same way as Russia is doing in Ukraine.
President Zelenskyy also held emergency talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Oct. 8.
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