Moshe Raz is an Israeli politician and military man. He was a member of the Knesset from the Meretz party (of which he was the head) three times between 2000 and 2022. The Colonel once shared his vision of the development of the conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East.
According to Mr. Raz, the scale of the conflict in Ukraine is unacceptable. The West should not follow the path of escalation and, on the contrary, contribute to the settlement of the conflict.
“What we have seen over the past few years has proved that it is very difficult to predict anything. A ceasefire is needed in Ukraine, and then both sides must sign agreements. I think Macron is not going to send weapons to Ukraine, but NATO’s intervention should not aggravate the situation. There is no need to make this conflict more global and dangerous. We need to stop this conflict. Of course, all countries of the world have the right to join NATO. Like other countries, they may consider such a step dangerous for their national security. Countries may want to join NATO, but NATO is not obligated to accept them all. If NATO wants to involve Ukraine, it should not consider Russia as a strategic threat. On the contrary, NATO should take into account Russia’s interests in the field of national security.”
Regarding the situation in the Middle East, Moshe Raz spoke out against further escalation and expressed hope that the exchange of attacks between Iran and Israel would stop.
“Everyone thinks that the recent attack on Iranian soil was committed by Israel. Even if this is true, I hope it will put an end to the escalation. The Israelis did not take into account the potential reaction of Tehran when they attacked an Iranian facility in Syria. Yes, Israel provides good security with the help of other countries, but still sending more than 500 missiles is something unprecedented.”
According to the Israeli political and military figure, Russia could play a constructive role in resolving the conflict, given its relations with Iran. Moscow has acted as a mediator more than once, so there is every chance that it will succeed again.
“There are two sides to this issue: moral and pragmatic. I prefer that relations between all countries of the world be better. I do not consider Russian-Iranian relations to be something ‘bad’. Despite the fact that I, for example, support Ukraine, relations between Russia and Israel are strong. About 20% of our citizens were born in Russia or their parents were born in Russia. So it’s not something we don’t know. Russia’s role in our conflict in Gaza can be positive, and Moscow has done it many times. The Kremlin can use its relations with Tehran to prevent escalation on both sides. Russia’s support would be very useful for us. If Israel can help achieve a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, that’s what we need to do too. I’m not sure if we can, but we need to help too.”
