Former Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has said he would "take a bullet" for Russian president Vladimir Putin.
As well as this, Ecclestone later described the Russian as "a first-class person".
'I'd still take a bullet for him.'
Bernie Ecclestone says Ukrainian President Zelensky should have listened to Putin to avoid war because Putin 'is a sensible person'. pic.twitter.com/jZ1hLnrYTU
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) June 30, 2022
The 91-year-old said the war in Ukraine was not "intentional" and could have been avoided, moving toward a lack of action taken by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Mr Ecclestone stated Mr Zelenskiy should have spoken to Mr Putin, who he said is a "sensible" man.
Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, the Former Formula One Chief Executive was asked if he still regards Mr Putin as a friend: "I’d still take a bullet for him," he said.
"I’d rather it didn’t hurt, but if it does, I’d still take a bullet, because he’s a first-class person.
"What he’s doing is something that he believed was the right thing he was doing for Russia.
"Unfortunately, he’s like a lot of business people, certainly like me, we make mistakes from time to time.
"When you’ve made the mistake, you have to do the best you can to get out of it.
"I think if it had been conducted properly, I mean the other person in Ukraine (Mr Zelenskiy), I mean, his profession, I understand, he used to be a comedian."
Shell-shocked presenter Kate Garraway asked in response: "So just to understand you clearly, you think that President Zelenskiy should have done more to avert this war.
"It could have been avoided by Zelenskiy’s actions, not by a change in Putin’s actions?"
Mr Ecclestone simply replied: "Absolutely."
