'Putin Is Playing Him': Ex-MI6 Boss Delivers Brutal Verdict On Trump's Approach To Ukraine War

Trump with Putin in 2018.The former head of the UK’s intelligence service has said Vladimir Putin is “playing” Donald Trump ahead of the pair’s crunch peace talks on Friday.Sir Alex Younger, who was in charge of MI6 from 2014 until 2020, also said the US president’s envoy to Russia, Steve Witkoff, was “out of his depth”.The Kremlin confirmed this morning that Putin and Trump will meet face-to-face in Alaska at 8.30pm UK time on Friday.The US president has warned that Russia faces “very severe consequences” if Putin does not agree to a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine.But appearing on Radio 4′s Today programme, Younger said that was not going to happen.He said: “I’ve seen absolutely nothing that has indicated Putin is in any way ready to change course and resile from his aim of total subjugation [of Ukraine]. So it’s hard to be optimistic, even though we desperately want a diplomatic solution.”Younger said America’s approach to the war in Ukraine was “structurally flawed” and added: “It is true that Donald Trump is the only person who can solve this, but I think he’s massively over-estimating the influence on Russia of the possibility of a bilateral reset with the US.“Russia just doesn’t trust the US and Putin is playing him. He has no real expectation of that improving. They’re all talking about the wrong thing. This isn’t about territory at all. It’s about sovereignty and whether Ukraine exists, and Putin is determined that it shouldn’t.”Witkoff, a lawyer and real estate investor who was appointed to his role despite having no foreign policy experience, has previously claimed to have reached a deal with Putin that could end the war.But Younger said: “Steve Witkoff, Trump’s envoy, is out of his depth. He can talk but he doesn’t listen. He doesn’t write stuff down. He didn’t take an interpreter. So this oven-ready deal that he’s presented, which apparently just requires Russian signature, is a total fantasy.”His scathing comments came as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks in Downing Street with Keir Starmer.Related...Putin May Have Just Sent A Signal He Is Only Paying Lip Service To Trump Peace TalksDoes Trump Want A Peace Deal From His Talks With Putin Or Is It Just A Glorified Photo Op?Volodymyr Zelenskyy Warns Trump About 1 Key Putin Tactic Ahead Of Peace Talks

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