Bill Burns calls Vladimir Putin a ‘bully’ whose ‘sabre-rattling’ should not always be taken literally

Western leaders should not be intimidated by Kremlin threats of nuclear escalation, the head of the CIA said on Saturday, and be willing to consider allowing Anglo-French Storm Shadow missiles to be used inside Russia.

Bill Burns, on a visit to London alongside the head of MI6, said the US had brushed off a previous Russian nuclear scare in autumn 2022, demonstrating that threats from Moscow should not always be taken literally.

“Putin’s a bully. He’s going to continue to sabre rattle from time to time,” Burns said. “We cannot afford to be intimidated by that sabre rattling … we got to be mindful of it. The US has provided enormous support for Ukraine, and I’m sure the president will consider other ways in which we can support them.”

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  • would_be_appreciated@lemmy.mlEnglish
    0·
    5 months ago

    They said the same thing when he was repeatedly lining up troops along Ukraine’s border.

    It’s not a problem until it is. They need to be making more progress on peace talks. It’s unacceptable this war has gone on for this long and killed this many people.

    • Michal@programming.devEnglish
      0·
      5 months ago

      What would be achieved by peace talks? Putin will dig deeper into the lands they occupy and get more time to rebuild their army and strike even harder. It’s been proven that he can’t be trusted.

    • breakfastmtn@lemmy.caOPEnglish
      0·
      5 months ago

      They said the same thing when he was repeatedly lining up troops along Ukraine’s border.

      Who’s ‘they’? The US warned the world repeatedly that Putin was planning an invasion. They spent a month prior to the full-scale invasion herding skeptical cats in Europe trying to get everyone on the same page.

    • Burn_The_Right@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      5 months ago

      Peace talks?! Hahaha

      It is not possible for a conservative like Putin to enter any negotiation in good faith. Every word uttered by a conservative is deception or manipulation.

      There is no negotiating with a conservative. It is simply not possible as their words mean absolutely nothing. When dealing with a conservative, there is only submit or fight. “Negotiating” with a conservative is submission.

    • cygnus@lemmy.caEnglish
      0·
      5 months ago

      They need to be making more progress on peace talks. It’s unacceptable this war has gone on for this long and killed this many people.

      Vatnik-tier opinion. No need to waste anybody’s time on a serious reply.

      • grue@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        5 months ago

        Exactly: “more progress on peace talks” in this context is just a tankie dog-whistle for “capitulating to Russia’s land-grabbing.”