The head of the CIA is sorry for Putin’s “arrogance”.

Adrienne Jaulmes, Washington correspondent

CIA Director William Burns believes that Vladimir Putin continues to overestimate his strengths and ability to win the war in Ukraine. “Putin is very confident at the moment in his ability to wear down Ukrainian defenses, to bite them.”Burns explained in a long interview with the American CBS News channel on Sunday.

“At some point he will have to deal with rising costs, coffins going into the poorest parts of Russia, many of which are conscripts being thrown as cannon fodder at the front… All this will add up. over time, but for now… he continues to show arrogance in his view of the war.”

Burns, a former career diplomat, Russian-speaker and former ambassador to Moscow, was one of the last senior US officials to meet with Vladimir Putin in the months before the invasion of Ukraine. Under his leadership, the CIA made public what it knew about the impending Russian attack in a completely unprecedented way. Since then, American-provided intelligence has played a significant role in Ukraine’s defense success.

Burns also maintained one of the few open lines of communication with Moscow. Last November, he met his Russian counterpart Sergey Naryshkin in Ankara. “The Conversation I Had” to him “It was quite disheartening”however, the CIA director said. “He had a very dismissive attitude… you sensed a lot of arrogance and pride. I think it reflected Putin’s own view of the war, his belief that time was on Russia’s side, that they would eventually crush the Ukrainians, that our European allies would tire, that political fatigue would eventually wear off. “install”.

“In my experience, Putin believes that we Americans suffer from attention deficit disorder, and eventually we will get ahead. His belief is that he can’t win right now, but he can’t afford to lose… So instead of retreating or looking for a way out, he just doubles down on his position… despite the fact that the operation is objectively beneficial for Russia. is a strategic failure.”

The director of the CIA believes that the only possible way to a negotiated solution is to first convince the Russian leader that he cannot achieve a military victory. “The former diplomat that I am would like to see opportunities for negotiations.”Burns said. “But I don’t think the Russians are serious about the negotiations now. Only progress on the battlefield will improve the outlook going forward… As the President (Biden) has said, I think it’s our responsibility, not just as an intelligence community, but as a government, to provide all the support we can to the Ukrainians, so that they can strengthen their positions on the battlefield and, ultimately, at the negotiating table.”

China’s role

Burns was also said to have “clearly explained” to his Russian counterpart “The dire consequences if Russia ever decides to use any type of nuclear weapon. I think Naryshkin understood the seriousness of this issue, and I think President Putin understood it too.”

Burns also confirmed that the US is concerned about possible arms shipments from China to Russia. “This is a matter that we are following very closely … we are convinced that the Chinese leadership is considering the supply of lethal equipment. We also don’t believe a final decision has been made at this point… I really hope they don’t.”

The director of the CIA finally felt that China is following the Ukrainian war very closely. “No foreign leader has followed Vladimir Putin’s experience in Ukraine and the evolution of the war more closely than Xi Jinping. And I think in many ways he was troubled and wary of what he saw. He was surprised by the very poor military performance of the Russians. I think he was also surprised by the level of Western solidarity and support for Ukraine.”

But Burns doesn’t think that lesson guarantees that China has completely abandoned the idea of ​​taking control of Taiwan by force. “We must take Xi Jinping’s ambitions regarding Taiwan very seriously.”said Burns, but “However, this does not mean that a military conflict is inevitable … I think that President Xi and his military leaders today doubt their ability to carry out an invasion. Putin’s experience in Ukraine probably reinforced their suspicions.. But “The risks of the potential use of force are likely to increase in this decade and the next. So that’s something we’re watching very, very closely.”