The Director of the CIA's attitude turned 180 degrees, once boasting that "this is the reddest red line". NATO | Russia | Red Line
According to Russia's Lianta Network on August 1st, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, previously opposed Ukraine's accession to NATO and the conflict with Russia, but now his attitude has turned 180 degrees. Russian news agency quoted former CIA analyst Larry Johnson as accusing Burns of being fickle.
According to reports, Johnson stated that as early as 2008, Burns had warned that Russia would have a "negative reaction" towards Ukraine's possible accession to NATO. Johnson recalled that Burns even sent a telegram warning of the danger of conflict breaking out. Johnson sneered, "What happened to him? Did aliens steal his soul?"
According to reports, a year ago, British writer and journalist Philip Short wrote that Burns had warned the US authorities of the danger of conflict with Russia over NATO's eastward expansion while serving as the US ambassador to Russia, but the US government decided to ignore the former diplomat's concerns.
▲ CIA Director William Burns
![The Director of the CIA's attitude turned 180 degrees, once boasting that "this is the reddest red line". NATO | Russia | Red Line](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/ba7a6b58b5642d19b25d1e4583bfb9e8.jpg)
Burns served as the US Ambassador to Russia from November 2005 to May 2008. According to the Australian "Dialogue" website on February 28, 2022, Burns has been warning about the "provocative effect" of NATO's eastward expansion on Russia since 1995. He was serving as a political counselor at the US Embassy in Russia at the time.
According to a report on the "Dialogue" website, in 2008, Burns, who was then the US Ambassador to Russia, wrote in a report to then US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, "For Russian elites, Ukraine's accession to NATO is the reddest of all red lines." He stated that over two and a half years, he had talked to key figures in Russian politics, including Kremlin members and critics of the Russian government, none of whom did not see Ukraine's accession to NATO as a direct challenge to Russia's interests.