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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Bethan McKernan in Jerusalem

Putin promised me he would not kill Zelenskiy, says former Israeli PM

Naftali Bennett (left) with Vladimir Putin in October 2021.
Naftali Bennett (left) with Vladimir Putin in October 2021. Photograph: Evgeny Biyatov/AP

The former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett has said in an interview that Vladimir Putin told him he would not try to kill Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a promise made during a trip to Moscow shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine last year.

Speaking on a podcast with the Israeli journalist Hanoch Daum, published on Sunday, Bennett said he received assurance from Putin that the Ukrainian president’s life was not at risk during a secretive visit to the Russian capital last March aimed at mediation during the war’s early days.

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