As the diplomatic war of words between Jerusalem and Kyiv over stolen Ukrainian grain escalated this week, a senior Israeli diplomat met with Russia’s ambassador while declining to make time to meet with the European Union envoy, two foreign diplomatic officials told The Times of Israel on Wednesday. EU envoy Michael Mann has been trying for over a week to meet with Simona Halperin, the Foreign Ministry deputy director general in charge of  ties with Europe, said the officials. Halperin met with Russian Ambassador Anatoly Viktorov on Tuesday, according to the Russian embassy. “An exchange of views took place on current topics of international cooperation, with particular attention paid to European issues,” said the Russian readout. “A mutual commitment to maintaining a constructive Russian-Israeli dialogue was reaffirmed.…