Russia Plans to Summon Israeli Ambassador Over "Unacceptable Statements"

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced today, according to TASS news agency, that it will summon Israeli Ambassador Simona Halperin over "unacceptable statements" she made in an interview. The ministry stated that Halperin misrepresented Russia's foreign policy during the interview conducted with the Russian daily newspaper Kommersant, published yesterday, Sunday. The ministry described the ambassador's comments as "an absolutely unsuccessful start" to her diplomatic role, which she began in December of last year. Halperin criticized Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the interview for downplaying the importance of the Nazi Holocaust and said that Russia is overly friendly toward the Palestinian Islamic resistance movement (Hamas).