Outgoing United Kingdom (UK) MI6 chief Richard Moore has warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin shows “no evidence” of wanting peace in Ukraine.
Speaking at the British consulate in Istanbul on September 19, Moore accused Putin of misleading the world with false promises of progress toward peace.
“He’s stringing us along,” Moore said.
“He seeks to impose his imperial will by all means at his disposal. But he cannot succeed. Bluntly, Putin has bitten off more than he can chew. He thought he was going to win an easy victory. But he – and many others – underestimated the Ukrainians.”
Moore, who previously served as the U.K.’s ambassador to Turkey, said Putin was mortgaging his country’s future for his own personal legacy and a distorted version of history, warning that Russia’s decline was being hastened by the ongoing conflict.
“Putin has sought to convince the world that Russian victory is inevitable. But he lies. He lies to the world. He lies to his people. Perhaps he even lies to himself,” he added.
The remarks coincided with MI6’s launch of a new dark web platform designed to make it easier for would-be informants to reach the agency.
The secure portal, known as “Silent Courier,” offers encrypted messaging and is aimed at attracting potential recruits — including those inside Russia — to provide intelligence to the UK.
“To those men and women in Russia who have truths to share and the courage to share them, I invite you to contact MI6,” Moore said.
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Trump Takes on Putin
US President Donald Trump slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin during a joint press conference with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, accusing the Russian leader of having “let him down” over the war in Ukraine.
Trump said on Thursday, September 18, that he had hoped to secure a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv early in his presidency, but that Putin’s actions had made such efforts impossible.
“He’s killing many people, and he’s losing more people than he’s killing. The Russian soldiers are being killed at a higher rate than the Ukrainian soldiers,” Trump said.
Also Read: UK Pledges $193M Ukraine Aid, Slaps New Sanctions on Russia
Trump’s UK State Visit
Trump’s sharp comments about Putin, however, were welcomed by British officials eager to use the high-profile visit to further isolate Moscow internationally.
Trump remarked that he had believed brokering a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine would be straightforward, given my relationship with President Putin, but admitted the Russian leader had disappointed him.
“He’s really let me down,” he said.
This marks Trump’s second state visit to the United Kingdom, an unprecedented diplomatic gesture that cemented the close ties between Washington and London even as the two leaders navigate areas of policy divergence.
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