Putin promised not to kill Zelensky, the former Israeli prime minister claimed.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has claimed to Israeli media that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him he would not assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. It was only after Bennett flew to Moscow at the request of Zelensky – who stated that “not afraid of anyone”- after Putin assured the safety of the Ukrainian leader.
In March of last year, Bennett traveled to Moscow as Israel’s prime minister to call for an early ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine – he told me on Saturday for Israel’s Channel 12.
With Russian forces surrounding Kiev, Zelensky was reportedly hiding in an undisclosed location at the time of the meeting. Bennett told the channel that the Ukrainian leader tasked him with assuring Putin that he would not be the target of any assassination attempt.
“Will Zelensky be killed?” Bennett asked Putin. The Russian president said no, when Bennett asked him to promise not to kill the Ukrainian president. Putin allegedly gave his word, Bennett said.
Bennett said that he called Zelensky immediately after leaving the Kremlin and told him of the Russian president’s promise.
Two hours later, Zelensky released a video from his office in Kyiv, explaining that he is not in hiding and is not afraid of anyone. According to Bennett, the Russian leader’s behavior has become brittle since the outbreak of the war.
The former prime minister – who shared office with Jair Lapid until Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in December – said that “everything I did during my trip to Moscow, I coordinated with the United States, Germany and France.”
Bennett’s interview came a day after Anne-Claire Legendre French Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed that President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Putin on the phone several times, primarily at Zelensky’s request. Meanwhile, the leaders of France and Israel took their messages to Moscow, in which Zelensky said he would never negotiate with Putin and banned his officials from holding any talks with the Russian president.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=videoseries