[5] Unlike many Western countries, Israel has maintained relations with the Kremlin, refused to impose sanctions against Russia, and rejected calls to send defensive weaponry to Ukraine.

[12] From late 1944, Stalin adopted an openly pro-Zionist foreign policy apparently in the belief that the new country would be socialist and would speed the decline of British influence in the Middle East.

[25] In 1999, as Foreign Minister, Ariel Sharon began to court more friendly relations with Russia as a result of the large-scale immigration of Russian-speakers to Israel: "The Russian vote will decide the outcome of the [Israeli] election".

[38] In April 2014, Israel took a neutral stance on the Russian annexation of Crimea at the United Nations, angering U.S. State Department and White House officials.

[48] In December 2016, Netanyahu instructed Israel's UN delegation to skip a General Assembly vote on war crimes committed in Syria, under diplomatic pressure from Russia.

[50] In January 2017, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Israel and Russia were "working closely" together in an attempt to stop the extradition of dual Russian-Israeli citizen Alexander Lapshin from Belarus to Azerbaijan.

[52] In March 2018, Israel declined to attribute the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal to Russia in its statement on the matter and refused to expel any Russian diplomats, drawing criticism from the United Kingdom.

[62] In December 2018, Russia backed Israel's security concerns over Hezbollah tunnels dug under the Israel-Lebanon border, urging Lebanon to resolve the issue.

[71] Benny Gantz and Tamar Zandberg, the leaders of the opposition parties Blue and White and Meretz respectively, subsequently accused Russia of favouring Netanyahu.

[75] On 25 June 2019, Israel convened its first trilateral summit between its national security adviser and his respective American and Russian counterparts, specifically focusing on the Iranian military presence in Syria.

[90][91] On 15 December 2020, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov praised the 2020 normalisation of relations between Israel and several Arab states, describing it as a "positive phenomenon".

Putin expressed a desire for "further development of multifaceted and constructive bilateral cooperation, including interaction in international affairs" as something that would be in "our peoples' fundamental interests".

[99] Upon receiving the letter, Netanyahu reportedly told Russian Ambassador Viktorov to "Tell President Putin that I will be back soon", and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned the long relationship between the two leaders.

[103] In February 2022, Russia turned down an Israeli demand to remove electromagnetic interference from its Syrian air station on planes landing in Tel Aviv, complicating tensions between the two countries.

[104] On 18 April 2022, Putin wrote a letter to Bennett demanding that Russia be granted control over the Alexander Courtyard in Jerusalem, as per an earlier agreement with former Primoe Minister Netanyahu.

[110] The Israeli Ministry of Defense also preemptively informed the Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia that it would not permit the transfer of Israeli-made weaponry to Ukraine, to placate Russia.

[126] On 12 March 2022, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov accused Israel of "unexplained indifference and unwillingness to take a side in the war" between Ukraine and Russia.

[137] A diplomatic row was sparked in May 2022, after Lavrov suggested that Hitler "had Jewish blood" and the "biggest antisemites tend to be Jews" in his critique of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.

[138] Lapid described Lavrov's remarks as "unforgivable" and the "basest level of racism", demanding the "use of the Holocaust of the Jewish people for political purposes must stop immediately".

[139] The Russian Foreign Ministry responded by describing Lapid's comments as "anti-historical" and "explaining to a large extent why the current Israeli government supports the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv".

[147] Opposition leader Netanyahu condemned Lapid and Gantz for the deterioration in relations, stating that they were "endangering our national security" and that his "measured, balanced and responsible relationship" with Russia as Prime Minister was "being undermined before our eyes in recent weeks".

[151][152][153] On 14 November 2022, Israel abstained on a UN General Assembly vote that called for Russia to pay reparations to Ukraine, breaking with the United States and the European Union.

[155] In his recently published book, Netanyahu wrote positively about Putin and describes him as "smart, sophisticated and focused on one goal – returning Russia to its historical greatness".

Russia condemned the mob, and Israel urged Russian law enforcement to "take robust action against the rioters and against the unbridled incitement being directed at Jews and Israelis".

[172] In January 2024, Lavrov accused the United States of seeking a "final solution" to the "Russian question" by assembling a coalition of European countries to support the Ukrainian war effort, in reference to the Holocaust.

[181] In July 2024, Russia condemned Israel's killing of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr during the 2024 Haret Hreik airstrike in Lebanon and the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, in Iran.

[186] Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar also suggested a potential Russian role in reducing Iranian arms supplies via Syria to Hezbollah in order to achieve a ceasefire.

[206][207] Iran, Russia, and Turkey all voted in favor of United Nations General Assembly resolution ES-10/L.22 to declare the status of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as "null and void."

[246] Similarly, Russia's Skolkovo innovation center has established a branch in Israel, the Israel-Skolkovo Gateway/Center (IsraelSK), which involves raising private capital and government grants leveraging for Israeli and Russian start-up companies.

[247] In 2016, Igor Drozdev, chairman of the board of the Skolkovo Foundation, signed a cooperation agreement with the Mayor of Yokneam, with the aim of collaboration in the development of technology between the two countries.