Former Israeli Prime Minister: Putin has promised me that he will not kill Zelensky

The former Israeli Prime Minister, Naftali Bennett, has said that he received a promise from the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, that he will not kill his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.

Bennett served for a short period as a mediator between the two countries.

He was even one of the few leaders who met Putin, a few weeks after the start of the war in Ukraine.

Although Bennett's efforts to mediate between the two countries appear to have had little effect on ending the fighting, several statements made in an interview on Sunday highlighted the diplomacy and emergency measures that have been taken to de-escalate the conflict in recent days. money.

In an interview that lasted five hours, Bennett touched on many topics, and then said he asked Putin if he intended to kill Zelensky.

"I asked him, 'How is your work? Are you planning to kill Zelensky?' He told me that "he will not kill Zelensky". Then I told him to give me his word that he will not kill Zelensky. He said that "he will not kill Zelensky".

Bennett then said that he called Zelensky to inform him about Putin's promise.

"Listen to me, I left the meeting, he will not kill you. He asked me 'are you sure?' I told him that he will not kill him."

Bennett has said during his mediation that Putin has given up on the demand for Ukraine's disarmament and Zelensky has given up on his country's NATO membership.

Bennet, a largely untested leader - having been in power for six months - immersed himself in international diplomacy shortly after the start of the war, because of Israel's ties to Russia and Ukraine.

Israel has good ties with the Kremlin and considers them strategic when there are threats from Iran, but it also sides with Western nations and tends to show support for Ukraine as well.

The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, calls the war started on February 24 of last year as a "special military operation".

The West has responded to Russia, hitting the economy of this country with harsh sanctions.

As a result of the war, thousands of people have died and millions more have been displaced from their homes./Rel