Broken ties Putin and Netanyahu content as entente ends

When Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone last month to Benjamin Netanyahu, their first conversation themselves in weeks, they found in an unusual dynamic, engaging not as partners but against the backdrop of historic tensions.

- Pjotr Sauera

Once touting their friendly relationship, the events of 7 October and Russia's pro-Palestinian stance in the aftermath have brought a decisive schism in their ties. "Their ties are absolutely at the lowest point since the fall of the Soviet Union," said Nikolay Kozhanov, a former Russian diplomat in Tehran and now an associate professor at Qatar University.

The contrasting accounts released by Israel and Russia after the call on 10 December gave insight into the strained relationship, said Dr Vera Michlin-Shapir, of King's College London and a former official at Israel's national security council, who specialises in Russian foreign policy.

Netanyahu said in a statement that he had spoken to Putin and voiced displeasure with "anti-Israel positions" taken by Moscow's envoys at the UN, while voicing "robust disapproval" of Russia's "dangerous" cooperation with Iran.