Israel was to extend on Tuesday its policy of standing surety for national airlines that continue to operate flights to Russia, despite Western sanctions imposed on the Russian airline industry following the invasion of Ukraine.
Due to Western sanctions, the insurances of air carriers operating to Russia are no longer valid.
To continue to make their connections, the companies must benefit from the guarantee of a State.
Last week, the Jewish state, which adopted a cautious position by emphasizing the strong ties that unite it to both Moscow and kyiv, decided to grant two billion dollars, the equivalent of 1.8 billion euros in bail to its airlines.
A request from the Israeli government
The European Union, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States have suspended flights to Russia and closed their airspace to Russian aircraft. In response, Moscow banned airlines from these countries from flying over Russian territory.
Other countries like Turkey, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates maintain air links to and from Russia.
On Monday, Israeli carrier El Al said in a statement “operating flights to Russia at the request of the Israeli government.”
“We will continue to provide transportation to Israelis and Jews from Russia for as long as possible,” he added.
Ukraine denounces this decision
For his part, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Monday accused the company El Al “of making money steeped in Ukrainian blood” by accepting payments made through the Russian payment system Mir.
He apologized on Tuesday as carrier El Al said it stopped accepting Mir payments four days after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on January 24 and said it had delivered aid humanitarian aid in Ukraine and helped thousands of people to flee the fighting.
