An appeal to Russians, “horrified” and disillusioned with their country’s leadership and the war in Ukraine, to put themselves in the service of British intelligence, while at the same time reassuring: “Putin should not be humiliated“. The head of MI6, Britain’s foreign intelligence service, Richard MooreDuring a public meeting at the London Embassy in Prague, he indulged in various reflections on Moscow, Kiev and intelligence obligations, particularly to China.
Both publicly and in an interview with Politico, Moore, known to the intelligence community as “C,” first sends a message to potential audiences of “disgruntled” Russians. The tones are clear: the invitation is aimed at everyone who wants to end the “bloodbath”. “Our doors are always open,” says Moore, quoted by Sky UK, to the defectors from Moscow.
“C” tells about a Putin “under pressure” after Prigozhin’s attempted lightning strike, which forced the Russian president into a “humiliating” agreement to “save his own skin.” But specify: “Nobody wants to humiliate Putin, let alone the great Russian nation. But the way to Moscow is very clear: withdrawal of all troops.”. A speech reminiscent of the words of the French President Emmanuel Macron at the beginning of the conflict, when, in the face of criticism from Kiev, he continued to make appeals to avoid humiliating Russia.
Nevertheless, Moore specifies: “It is up to Ukraine to define the peace conditions, not us.” Yes, because, as he himself explains, it is almost obvious that the conflict will end “with some kind of negotiation”, but Kiev will decide “how”. “Our task – he continues – is to try to put them in the best possible position to negotiate from a position of strength.” And the Ukrainian counter-offensive? Moore defines it as “hard work” but still “more profitable” than the Russian advance. Although the goal is to conserve troops, “Ukraine was still able to recapture more territory than the Russians were able to capture in a year.”
According to Moore, however, there is an even “warmer” front than the Russian one. It’s about the China: “Today – he explains – we devote more resources to Beijing than to any other mission.”