Israel told three countries in the Baltics not to transfer to Ukraine any weapons systems that had been provided to them out of deference to Russia, which is massing more than 100,000 troops along its border, according to media reports.
Israel’s Ministry of Defense told Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania that they would refuse any permission for the three countries to provide Ukraine with Israeli-made weapons initially meant for their own defense, according to the website Breaking Defense.
The move was driven by Jerusalem’s need to balance its relations with Russia, the website reported, citing defense sources in the country. It was also apparently driven by the possibility Ukraine would want the “Spike” anti-tank weapon, built by a joint Israeli-German firm.
Like the United States, Israel puts “end-user” restrictions on weapons that are sold to other countries. They restrict the ability of the governments that were provided the armaments to hand them over to a third country without permission.
According to Breaking Defense, Israel wants to maintain good relations with the Kremlin because it needs to continue operating in Syria against shipments of Iranian-made weapons on their way to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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