For the first time since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine, Israel published Wednesday an official statement which calls for a peaceful solution.
"Israel is following with great concern the events in Ukraine, it is anxious for peace for all its citizens and hope that the situation will not deteriorate to a loss of human life. Israel expects the crisis in Ukraine will be handled through diplomatic means and will be resolved peacefully," the Forein Ministry said in a statement.
The statement did not mention Russia which is under pressure from the US and the EU to pull its forces back from Crimea to their base on the Black Sea Peninsula.
Itskhak Karmel-Kogan, Deputy Ambassador of Israel to Ukraine, declared Tuesday in a teleconference organized by Jewish leader Vadim Rabinovich with community representatives across the county : “The Israeli Embassy in Kiev is guarded by Titan special forces and members of the Israeli security services. We have not encountered any problematic situations.”
A Ukrainian wounded on the streets of Kiev in clashes between protesters and police last month arrived for treatment in Israel on Wednesday and six more were expected to arrive, Israeli press reports said.