Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call late Friday asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to vote against a UN General Assembly resolution that calls on the International Court of Justice to issue a legal opinion on the consequences of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, Ukrainian and Israeli officials told Axios.
The big picture: Ukraine had voted in favor of the resolution during a UN committee vote but did not attend Friday’s General Assembly vote “in order to give a chance to the relationship with Netanyahu,” the Ukrainian official said.
Catch up quick: The UN General Assembly approved the resolution late Friday, with 87 countries voting in favor, 24 countries voting against and 53 countries abstaining.
Behind the scenes: Netanyahu, who was sworn in as prime minister on Thursday, called Zelensky as part of a series of phone calls with leaders of some countries that had previously voted in favor of the resolution. Israel wanted them to change their votes and oppose the resolution or at least abstain, a senior Israeli official told Axios.
- During the call with Netanyahu, Zelensky said that in exchange for voting against the resolution or abstaining, he wanted to hear how the new Israeli government would change its policy and provide Ukraine with defense systems against Russian attacks using ballistic missiles and Iranian-made drones, a Ukrainian official told Axios.
- The Ukrainian official said Netanyahu didn’t commit to anything but said he was ready to discuss Zelensky’s requests in the future.