Former Formula 1 president Bernie Ecclestone, who is resting for a few days in Ibizaoffered this Thursday a live interview on the British program ‘Good Morning Britain’ on ITV.
Presenters Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway asked the 91-year-old British businessman about his opinion of the russian invasion in ukraineas Ecclestone has been seen in public with Vladimir Putin on numerous occasions.
Their responses have been radical and clearly positioned in favor of the Russian president. “I’d take a bullet for him“, assured the British businessman. On the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski, he affirmed: “I think that if he had thought about things, he would have made a great effort to speak with Mr. Putin, who he is a sensible person and would have listened to him and probably would have done something about it,” adding that the president was a comedian before the war and seemed to want to stay that way.
The viewers of the program did not let their indignation pass by these statements and the reactions on social networks were immediate.
One of the most shocking interviews I’ve ever heard! Cannot believe Bernie Ecclestone still supports Putin, deluded. Ben and Kates face says it all! #GMB pic.twitter.com/eYTwROyfhf
– Liam Chapman-Lyes @ ???????? (@Liamjrc) June 30, 2022
These remarks come on the heels of several Russian attacks on apartment buildings and shopping malls in Ukraine, the latest of which was branded a war crime by Western leaders.
What he did say is that Putin is “a businessman, like me, and we make mistakes from time to time”. “(Putin) He is a first class person and what he is doing is what he thinks is right for Russia.”
To the disbelief of the presenters and the question of how he could justify the death of thousands of innocent Ukrainians, Bernie Ecclestone responded by setting the example of the United States and its numerous invasionscomparing Russia with the US adding that both nations “like wars because they sell weapons”.
‘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 beginning of a friendship
According to the Metro newspaper, the friendship between Bernie Ecclestone and Vladimir Putin began in 2014, when they both presented the Russian Grand Prix. Years later, in 2019, the former head of Formula 1 assured The Times that he would like to see Putin “run Europe” because he “is a good guy and has never done anything that is not good for the people”.