16 minutes agoCIA rejects claims that Putin is sick
Periskopi(4 years ago)
(4 years ago)There is no information that Russian President Vladimir Putin is unstable or in poor health, CIA Director William Burns said on Thursday, the BBC writes. There have been increased media speculation that Putin, who turns 70 this year, could suffer from ill health, perhaps cancer. But [...]
There is no information that Russian President Vladimir Putin is unstable or in poor health, CIA Director William Burns said on Thursday, the BBC writes.
There have been increased media speculation that Putin, who turns 70 this year, could suffer from ill health, perhaps cancer.
But Burns said there was no evidence to confirm this, joking that he looked at “very healthy”.
His comments came after the US announced it would provide Ukraine with more long-range weapons.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia's military focus in Ukraine was no longer “alone” birth and implied that Moscow's strategy had changed after the West supplied Ukraine with such weapons.
There are many speculations about President Putin's health and as far as we can say he's completely very healthy”, Burns said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.
He added that this was not an official intelligence judgment.
Burns, who served as ambassador to Moscow, said he had been watching and dealing with the Russian leader for more than two decades.
“Putin is a major believer in control, intimidation and equality, and these features have hardened over the past decade after its councilors' circle has contracted”, the CIA chief said.
