The country has not closed its airspace and seeks to assist with aid and conflict negotiation.
An Israeli Finance Ministry source told AFP that the office would seek to extend underwriting put in place last week for Israeli airlines flying into Russia that are not eligible for their regular insurance because of current sanctions.
The $2 billion financial guarantees for its airlines to fly into Russia expires today, March 9.
Suspension
The move follows the closure of airspace in the European Union, Canada, and the United States over recent weeks. Those nations have also suspended flights to Russia as part of sanctions. Russia has stopped airlines from traveling to 36 countries, including 27 EU nations, in response to these sanctions. European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, spoke about the shutdown earlier this month:
Flag carrier El Al continues to serve Moscow with daily flights and has continued flying repatriation flights for Israelis abroad. Flights to Russia typically fly over Turkey from Israel, and air links are still open from other countries to Russia, including Turkey, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
El Al flights to Russia caused a diplomatic issue
Flagship airline El Al recently refuted allegations that it is accepting online payments for flights through Russia’s Mir electronic payments system. The allegations came after Western services such as Visa, Mastercard, and American Express were disconnected from Russian transactions.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba apologized and corrected himself after tweeting that Israel’s national carrier El Al was still accepting Russia’s Mir payment system in an attempt to bypass sanctions. The airline said in a statement,
“EL AL has blocked the use of the Mir credit card as of 28 February, 2022. With the closure of airspace, El Al flew hundreds of tons of humanitarian and medical equipment to Ukraine and rescued orphans and refugees.”
“Indeed, the ‘Mir’ payment button remained on the website, but the use of it was blocked. I am grateful to El Al for its important humanitarian operations and convey my apologies.” Kuleba said yesterday. The apology message, shared on Twitter, was in reference to the Mir payment card processing system that Russia first developed following sanctions imposed in the wake of its annexation of Crimea.
Israel as a mediator
The Israeli Government led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has not joined the sanctions as he attempts to balance relations between Israel, Russia and Ukraine. Bennett flew to Moscow on Saturday in an effort to mediate between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky for peace talks.
Bennet spoke first to French President Emmanuel Macron, Elysée Palace confirms. The Israeli Prime minister then traveled to Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and has held follow-up calls with both Zelensky and Putin since.
Israel is one of the few countries with good working relations with both Russia and Ukraine. Israel’s Foreign Ministry estimates there are up to 15,000 Israelis in Ukraine right now, many of which have fled to Israel.
Three Israeli carriers: El Al, Arkia, and Israir, have all bolstered their flights from Ukraine, which is home to 200,000 Jews. Israel has delivered over 100 tons of humanitarian aid to the country and announced it would be setting up a field hospital there.
Source: simpleflying.com