In a rare exclusive interview, Richard Moore issued a direct appeal to Russians disillusioned with their leadership, while also assessing that President Vladimir Putin is "under pressure" within the country after a mercenary rebellion exposed his weakness. "Join us - our doors are always open," said Moore, known as "C" within the agency, speaking at the Politika event organized by the British Embassy in Prague. The head of MI6, who came to head the agency in 2020 after a diplomatic career, has often referred to Prague's history as a center of resistance to Russian domination as a parallel to today's times. While the city's students led a rebellion against the Soviet occupiers that was brutally crushed by Russian tanks, the Czech Republic - long known as a playground for spies - is now a member of NATO and the EU, and a strong supporter of Ukraine.
"When we thought about my coming here, it seemed like a very good place to talk, especially about Ukraine. The parallels are so strong, aren't they?” Moore said. "This is the last European country to see Russian tanks cross the border and that's where Ukraine is."
Moore gave an optimistic assessment of the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine, noting that Kiev forces have captured more territory in the last month than the Russians have managed to do in a year. He also warned African leaders who are relying on Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the private military company Wagner, to stay in power. "If Russian mercenaries can betray Putin, who else could they betray?" he said in the speech, the only public address he plans to make this year. Moore's comments come as MI6 steps up its public communications efforts. Founded under a different name before the First World War, MI6 - the British equivalent of the US CIA, while MI5 is more akin to the FBI - operated out of public view for many years.
The British government officially recognized its existence only in 1994. During those years in the shadows, a rich mythos developed around the spy agency and its secret agents - thanks to the works of authors such as Graham Greene and John Le Carré, and of course the iconic character of James Bond, agent 007 created by Ian Fleming. MI6 has modernized its image and now operates from headquarters on the banks of the Thames in London. But Moore said he embraces the mythology surrounding his work — including writing in green ink, in keeping with a hundred-year-old tradition. We highlight seven main conclusions from Moore's interview with Politics in Prague.
"Hard fight" in Ukraine
With Russia's invasion nearly 18 months in the making, Kiev's Western allies are closely monitoring the progress of a counteroffensive that began earlier this summer. Ukrainian commanders point to challenges on the battlefield, as deeply entrenched Russian troops litter the front with thousands of mines that are slowing Ukraine's progress.
Kiev's advance, which is taking place without strong air support, has drawn criticism that Ukraine is advancing at a slow pace. But Moore sounded positive.
"First of all, it is a tough fight and Ukrainian officials and military personnel are not shying away from it. And the Russians had the opportunity to set up a very strong defense that is difficult to overcome," he said.
"But I return to the fact that Ukrainian commanders, in very sharp contrast to their Russian counterparts, want to take care of the lives of their soldiers and therefore move carefully. They still conquered more territory in a month than the Russians managed to achieve in a year".
Do not "humiliate" Putin
Since the start of the war, some Western leaders - notably French President Emmanuel Macron - have expressed concern about the risk of "humiliating" Putin. Moore seemed to agree, saying the West's goal is not to humiliate Russia or Putin himself.
"Nobody wants to humiliate Putin, and even less wants to humiliate the great nation of Russia," he said. "But the path for them is very clear: withdraw all your troops".
He added: “Most conflicts end with some kind of negotiation. It is up to Ukraine to determine the terms of peace, not us. Our task is to try to put them in the strongest possible position in order to negotiate from a position of strength, and that is what we are aiming for".
Russian leader "under pressure"
Almost a year and a half after Russia's re-invasion of Ukraine and a month after Prigozhin's failed rebellion, Moore said it was impossible to determine what was going on in Putin's head. But he gave a harsh assessment of his position within the Russian government.
"It is clear that he is under pressure. You can't have a group of mercenaries heading towards Rostov on the highway and get within 125 kilometers of Moscow if you didn't quite foresee that happening," he said.
“I think he's probably feeling some pressure. Prigozhin was his creation, completely created by Putin, but he turned against him," Moore added. "He really didn't fight against Prigogine. He made a deal to save his own skin by using the good offices of the leader of Belarus”.
A call to the Russians
Moore made an open appeal to Russians disillusioned with their leaders and the bloodshed in Ukraine, urging them to turn to British security services.
"I urge them to do what others have already done in the last 18 months and join us," he said in his prepared speech. During the interview, he added: "The truth is that people still come to us, and of course, they do so at a certain risk." But we care about the people who come and work with us, and of course, our successes are never known.”
"Immense" capabilities of China
Despite the strong focus on Russia, the spy chief stressed that Britain's main concern on the world stage today was China, which he described as inevitable.
"We now devote more resources to China than to any other mission." That reflects China's "importance in the world" and the "crucial need" to understand the capabilities of the Chinese government, he said.
Regarding China's intelligence operations in the West, Moore said, "Like everything else to do with China, you have to look at its size." China's capabilities are "enormous and beyond borders," he added.
Espionage in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
With the advent of artificial intelligence, some critics argue that AI will make human agents irrelevant. Moore strongly objected to this, arguing that human intelligence is still key to what "machines can't do", while stressing that MI6 is "experimenting like crazy" with AI.
"If AI is directed in a direction that goes beyond international coordination and develops with bad intentions, it is extremely dangerous. As we can already see with the capabilities of generative AI, this will have to be handled carefully,” he said.
Turbulence in Iran due to drones
Moore provided an intriguing clue to the discord within Iran's secretive regime. Although Iran was a key backer of Putin's invasion, providing drones that terrorized Ukrainian soldiers and cities, the MI6 chief said the delivery of the drones had caused friction among Iranian leaders.
"Iran's decision to arm Russia with suicide drones that wreak indiscriminate destruction on Ukrainian cities has sparked internal strife at the highest level of the regime in Tehran," he said in prepared remarks. "Iran clearly chose to make money, as well as possibly gain some military know-how in return for its support of the Russians."
Translation: SK
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