The head of the Israel-Ukraine inter-parliamentary association, Israel is Our Home Party MP Alex Miller, has said he does not understand why the Ukrainian opposition signed a coalition agreement with an "anti-Semitic" party – the Svoboda All-Ukrainian Union.

"I cannot understand why the leaders of Ukraine's Batkivschyna United Opposition decided to sign an agreement on the creation after the parliamentary elections on October 28 of a coalition with Oleh Tiahnybok, the head of the anti-Semitic Svoboda Party," he told the portal IzRus.

"I and my colleagues in Israel are concerned that for the first time, a similar party, which openly defends far-right chauvinistic positions, might not only be represented in parliament, but also join the government of a country friendly to us," he said.

In this regard, Miller noted that Tiahnybok was known for making insulting remarks about the Jews, and that "Ukraine was occupied by the Jews, rather than the Germans."

According to the Ukrainian Jewish Committee, Svoboda is a fascist party, and its full name - the Social-National Party of Ukraine - was chosen in association with the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP).

"I cannot imagine how opposition political parties in Ukraine, who describes themselves as being democratic, could sign an agreement with such odious personalities. Israel and Ukraine have in recent years established great relations, and tourism and trade are growing. If politicians like Tiahnybok come to power, they can start putting a spoke in our wheel and stop the expansion of ties between the two countries," Miller said.

The agreement between Batkivschyna and Svoboda was signed on October 19.