Russia's foreign ministry will summon Israeli ambassador Simona Halperin over "unacceptable comments" she made in an interview, the TASS news agency cited the ministry as saying on Monday.
Mikhail Bogdanov, advisor to President Vladimir Putin for the Middle East, and Simona Halperin © Mena Today/File Photo
Russia's foreign ministry will summon Israeli ambassador Simona Halperin over "unacceptable comments" she made in an interview, the TASS news agency cited the ministry as saying on Monday.
Halperin, according to the ministry, misrepresented Russia's foreign policy stance in the interview with Russia's Kommersant daily, published on Sunday.
The ministry described her comments as "an extremely unsuccessful start" to her diplomatic posting, which began last December.
In the interview, Halperin criticised Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for playing down the importance of the Holocaust and said Russia was being too friendly with Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iran's leaders on Tuesday that Israel would strike back decisively if attacked, as US and Iranian strikes escalated to their highest intensity since the April ceasefire.
Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, spiritual leader of Syria's Druze community, said Monday that Suwayda's future could take several forms, full independence, autonomy under another state's protection, or union with another country, as he marked the first anniversary of the deadly July 2025 events in the southern Syrian province.
Lebanon and Israel resumed talks on Tuesday in the Italian capital, with Beirut hoping for progress towards securing an Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon under a U.S.-brokered deal, although expectations for swift progress were low.
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