“He is convinced that his destiny as the leader of Russia is to restore Russia as a great power,” said William Burns
There is no information that the Vladimir Putin is (mentally) unstable, or in poor health, CIA Director William Burns said, amid intense media speculation that the Russian president, who turns 70 this year, may be suffering from health problems, possibly cancer.
But William Burns said there was no evidence to support this, even joking that he looks “too healthy”.
“There are a lot of rumors about President Putin’s health, but as far as we know he is completely too healthy,” Burns joked at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.
Responding to the laughter of those present, he clarified that his words did not constitute an official assessment of information. Burns, who served as the US ambassador to Moscow, said he had been following and communicating with the Russian leader for more than two decades.
“Mr. Putin is a big believer in control, intimidation and revenge,” and those traits have hardened over the past decade as his circle of advisers has shrunk, the CIA chief said.
“He is convinced that his destiny as the leader of Russia is to restore Russia as a great power. He believes that the ‘key’ to doing this is to reshape a sphere of influence in Russia’s ‘neighborhood’ and he cannot do that without controlling Ukraine,” he pointed out.
Burns’ comments came as the US announced it would provide Ukraine with more long-range weapons.
It is noted that the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Russia is not focusing “only” on the Donbass as far as Ukraine is concerned, and hinted that Moscow’s strategy changed after the West supplied Ukraine with such weapons.
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