Speculation has long been growing in the media that Putin, who turns 70 this year, is seriously ill, possibly cancer. However, Burns said in a speech Wednesday that there is no evidence of this, and joked that the Russian leader even looked “too healthy”. When the room burst into laughter, he made the reservation that this was not an official assessment of the information.
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Burns, the former US ambassador to Russia, claimed to have dealt with the Russian leader for more than two decades. He described him as “a great advocate of control, intimidation and settling of scores”, and these qualities, he says, have been accentuated over the past decade as Putin’s circle of advisers has grown. shrank.
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“(Putin) is convinced that his destiny as the leader of Russia is to bring the country back to great power status. He thinks the key to that is to recreate a sphere of influence close to Russia, and he can’t do it without controlling Ukraine,” Burns said.
The CIA chief was in Moscow last November to warn Russian authorities of the serious consequences of a possible invasion of Ukraine. He claims to have left “more worried than he arrived”.
The Russian president’s plans were based on “deeply mistaken assumptions and illusions, including the Ukrainians’ will to resist”. said the director of the CIA. “Putin really believes his rhetoric. I’ve heard him say in private conversations over the years that Ukraine isn’t a real country. Well, real countries fight. And that’s what they do. Ukrainians,” he added.
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