Lapid Restarts First Israeli Diplomatic Contact With Sweden at Ministerial Level in Seven Years
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by Benjamin Kerstein
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. Photo: Adi Cohen Zedek via Wikimedia Commons.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid restarted formal diplomatic contacts at the ministerial level with Sweden on Monday, ending seven years of estrangement.
Israel’s Walla news reported that Lapid held a phone call with his Swedish counterpart Ann Linde just before Yom Kippur, and then again on Monday, before formally announcing the renewal of ties at the ministerial level.
This was the first such conversation between foreign ministers from the two countries since 2014, when they fell out over Sweden’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state.
Since then, Israel-Sweden relations have been essentially frozen, with previous Swedish foreign ministers being persona non grata in Israel, to the point that they were denied entry to the country.
During Monday’s meeting, Lapid said he appreciated statements of support for Israel’s security from Linde. He also said that Israel intends to participate in the upcoming International Forum on Holocaust Remembrance in the Swedish city of Malmo.
“I expect an increase in cooperation between Israel and Sweden in international forums as well,” Lapid said.
