On the one hand, an appeal to Russians “horrified” and disillusioned by their country’s leadership and by the war in Ukraine to put themselves at the service of British intelligence. On the other, the “promise” that “nobody wants to humiliate Putin, much less humiliate the great Russian nation”. the head of theMI6the British Foreign Intelligence Service, Richard Moore, during a public meeting at the London embassy in Prague, he indulged in various considerations on Moscow, Kiev and intelligence commitments, especially on the front that looks to China. Speaking both publicly and in an interview to PoliticoMoore – known as “C” within intelligence – first of all, it sends a message to the potential audience of “disgruntled” Russians. The tones are explicit: the invitation is addressed to anyone who wants to end the “bloodbath”. “Our doors are always open,” says Moore, quoted by Sky Ukaddressing the defectors from Moscow.
“C” tells of a Putin “under pressure” after Prigozhin’s attempted blitz which forced the Russian president into a “humiliating” agreement to “save his own skin”. But he specifies: “Nobody wants to humiliate Putin, much less humiliate the great Russian nation. But the path to Moscow is very clear: withdraw all troops.”. A speech, this, which recalls what the French president said Emmanuel Macron at the beginning of the conflict when, amid criticism from Kiev, he continued to launch appeals to avoid humiliating Russia. In these cases, it always remains to be understood whether the good words also lead to decisions in the field.
However, Moore again reiterates a concept that often returns in the public discourse of Western leaders: “It is up to Ukraine to define the terms of the peace, not to us”. It is almost obvious that the conflict will end “with a sort of negotiation”, adds Moore, but the “how” will be decided by Kiev. “Our task – he continues – is to try to put them in the strongest 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 preserve troops, in fact, “even so, Ukraine has been able to recover more territory than the Russians have managed to obtain in a year”.
According to Moore, however, there is an even “warmer” front than the Russian one. It’s about the Chinese: “Today – he explains – we dedicate more resources to Beijing than any other mission”.