Foreign Minister Yair Lapid’s briefing to reporters Feb. 13 about escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine can best be described as circumspect. It focused on the urgent need to evacuate Israelis still in the volatile region. The reason for this is that official Israel is doing everything it can to avoid taking a stance in the conflict. It is caught between Ukraine and the West on one hand and the Russians on the other hand. It maintains friendly relations with all the parties involved in the conflict and shares mutual security, diplomatic and cultural interests with them.
