According to the former Israeli prime minister who acted as a mediator when Russia’s conflict with Ukraine first erupted, Vladimir Putin vowed not to assassinate his Ukrainian equivalent.
During the early stages of the war, Naftali Bennett served as a middleman and was one of the few Western allies to see the Russian president during a trip to Moscow in March.
Regrettably, Bennett’s attempts at negotiation failed, and the battle continues.
His meeting’s specifics have finally been made public in a lengthy five-hour online interview.
‘I asked, ”what’s with this? Are you planning to kill (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky?” Bennet told interviewers. ‘Putin 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.”’
Bennett claimed that after finishing his conversation with Putin, he called the Ukrainian presidential office to inform Zelensky of his Russian adversary’s commitment.
Bennett said, “Listen, I just left a meeting; he won’t kill you.”
He queries, “Are you sure?” I assured her, “He won’t kill you at all.”
Bennett further asserted that Zelensky made a commitment not to join NATO and that Putin reneged on his promise to seek the disarming of Ukraine during their mediation.
The Kremlin, which has consistently refuted Ukrainian charges that Russia meant to assassinate Zelensky, did not respond right away.
Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine, responded on Twitter to Bennett’s remarks by saying that Putin should not be trusted.
Do not be deceived: He is a skilled liar. He has often made promises not to do something, it has been exactly part of his plan,’ Kuleba declared.
