In a move to boost his foreign policy bona fides ahead of a potential 2016 presidential bid, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) will be traveling this week to Israel and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, to meet with leaders in those countries, his office said.
AP
Cruz's trip to Israel will occur shortly after Pope Francis' visit, and his swing through Eastern Europe will be a week before President Barack Obama visits Poland to mark 25 years since the fall of communism in the country. The visit also comes just after the weekend presidential election in Ukraine, which is still dealing with Russian hostilities.
Cruz “will travel to Israel, Ukraine, Poland, and Estonia where he will meet with leaders and influencers to listen to their concerns, ideas, and expertise, learn more about the situation on the ground, and visit key cultural sites,” the senator's office said in a statement.
The travel will last from Tuesday through Friday
While in Israel, Cruz will have meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, Defense Minister Moshe “Bogi” Ya’alon, opposition leader Bogie Herzog, Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz and Israeli Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser
Cruz will also tour the Golan Heights and will have a roundtable meeting with Israeli students.
In Ukraine, he'll meet with protest leaders opposed to the Russian incursion and with the country's Catholic and Jewish leaders.
