Israeli Ex-PM Naftali Bennett
Amid the Russia-Ukrainian war, Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised not to kill Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, said the former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
Israel’s former PM Naftali Bennett as Mediator
According to the officials, the former Israeli PM Bennett has made a surprise visit to Moscow to meet with Putin. He is also one of the few Western leaders to do so during the war.
However, Bennett’s mediation effort has little impact on ending the conflict, his interview highlights the behind-the-scenes diplomacy and urgent efforts to bring the war to a close in its early stages. In the five-hour interview with the media, Bennett mentioned that he asked Putin about his intentions towards President Zelensky.
Speaking to the media, the former PM said, “I asked ‘what’s with this? Are you planning to kill Zelensky?’ He said ‘I won’t kill Zelensky.’ I then said to him ‘I have to understand that you’re giving me your word that you won’t kill Zelensky.’ He said ‘I’m not going to kill Zelensky.”
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Bennett confirms Zelensky through a call
After Putin’s commitment, Bennett stated that he then informed President Zelensky of Putin’s promise through a call.
“Listen, I came out of a meeting, he’s not going to kill you.’ He asks, ‘are you sure?’ I said ‘100% he won’t kill you.”
Moreover, Naftali Bennett as the mediator said that then Vladimir Putin had dropped his vow to seek Ukraine’s disarmament and Zelensky had promised not to join NATO.
Meanwhile, Russia claimed that Ukraine plans a major “provocation” in Donetsk to extract more promises of military aid from the West. This came after Russian missiles struck Kharkiv, damaging a university and residential neighbourhoods in the city. Ukraine also expects a big new Russian offensive to start this month, Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov.
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