Aircraft with registration LX-RAY owned by Roman Abramóvich had stayed a few hours at Tel Aviv airport, where he landed on Sunday evening. A photo from a Reuters agent in the VIP lounge of the air terminal confirms the presence of the Russian oligarch in sanctioned Israel for his alleged support for Russian President Vladimir Putin in the invasion of Ukraine. The plane took off on Monday afternoon in the direction of Istanbul. That israel business every day globe He detailed that private planes must leave the runway of Ben Gurion airport within 24 hours of landing, in accordance with restrictions imposed by the Israeli government after the outbreak of the armed conflict. The European Union has announced this Monday that it is included in the hitherto owner’s sanctions list of English football club Chelsea, within the framework of coordinated action with the G-7, France Presse reports.

Abramóvich, who has denied he has any ties to Putin, is among seven Russian financial tycoons on a sanctions list imposed by Britain, which on Saturday withdrew its rights to Chelsea, in moves to isolate it economically to Russia. . The United States, Canada, Australia and other countries have joined in the economic retaliation against Russian businessmen known for their close contacts with the Moscow government.

Having acquired Israeli citizenship in 2018 due to his Jewish origin, Abramovich has repeatedly traveled to Israel, where he stands out for his philanthropic activities. Last week, the Jerusalem Holocaust Center and Museum rejected a multi-million dollar donation from the oligarchs made after the start of the war in Ukraine and cut all ties to it.

He also has a Portuguese passport since 2021, under a law that recognizes citizenship for Sephardic Jews. Lisbon authorities opened an investigation over the weekend into alleged irregularities in the citizenship grant file processed by the Oporto rabbi.

Israel has not joined the Western economic sanctions against Russia, in an equal distance policy in the Ukraine conflict. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett tries to mediate between Kiev and Moscow and has been one of the few international leaders Putin has accepted into the Kremlin. Air relations with Russia remain open in Israel, where more than one million residents (15% of the population) are from the former Soviet Union. For the Bennett government, it is crucial to maintain freedom of action for its combat flights in attacks against pro-Iranian militias stationed in Syria, whose airspace is de facto controlled by the Russian Army.

United States Assistant Secretary of State, Victoria Nulland, has called on Israel to join the sanctions and contribute to international pressure on Moscow. Speaking to Israel’s 12 television channel quoted by the Hebrew press on Sunday, Nuland warned that the Jewish state should not be a “protection for dark money for Putin’s war.” The American diplomat stressed that the emphasis was on the Russian oligarchs.

That Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid He responded this Monday, during an official trip to Slovakia, by guaranteeing that Israel “will not be a shortcut to evade sanctions against Russia”, without elaborating. Lapid limited himself to announcing that his department would coordinate with the finance and energy ministries, the Bank of Israel and border control authorities to “continue to monitor movements in the payment system and financial markets.”