Zelensky congratulates Netanyahu on his election victory and invites him to visit Kyiv

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The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, congratulate head of the Likud party, Benjamin Netanyahu, who won the Israeli elections, invited him to visit Kyiv, reiterating his country’s request for arms from Israel.

This came during a phone call made by Zelensky to Netanyahu, on Monday evening, in which he congratulated him on his victory in the Knesset elections that took place on Tuesday.

The right-wing camp led by Netanyahu won 64 seats out of 120 in the Knesset, which qualifies him to form the next government, while the rival camp led by Prime Minister Yair Lapid, leader of the “There is a Future” party, won 56 seats.

“In their warm and personal call, Netanyahu thanked Zelensky for his congratulations and reiterated his words during the election campaign that after taking office he will seriously consider the issue of Ukraine,” Netanyahu’s office said in a brief statement.

For his part, Zelensky said in a tweet on his Twitter account that he congratulated Netanyahu on his victory in the elections and wished him a successful formation of the new government.

Zelensky expressed his hope that “the level of interaction between Ukraine and Israel will be compatible with the security challenges that the two countries face,” without elaborating.

In a related context, the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper quoted unnamed Ukrainian officials as saying that during the call, the Ukrainian president again raised his country’s request to obtain Israeli weapons, and invited Netanyahu to visit Kyiv.

During his election campaign, Netanyahu said that he would consider providing Ukraine with Israeli weapons if he was elected, and would also study the possibility of playing the role of mediator between Russia and Ukraine, according to the same source.

According to a recent report by Bloomberg agency, the Russians warned the Israelis against supplying weapons to Ukraine, even if they were defensive weapons, and even if they passed through a third country, stressing that this would lead to a Russian response.

Israel has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine, including helmets, but has refrained from sending weapons.

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