AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File
- The director of the CIA believes that Putin has yet to play all of his cards against Yevgeny Prigozhin.
- Right now, Putin is buying time and seeing how he can still benefit from Prigozhin and Wagner Group.
- But Putin is the 'ultimate apostle of payback' CIA director William Burns said at the Aspen Security Forum.
The director of the CIA said that Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin should not fire his food taster and to watch his back for Vladimir Putin. Echoing a similar joke made by President Joe Biden.
CIA Director William Burns, speaking at the Aspen Security Forum 2023 on Thursday, discussed Prigozhin's failed mutiny and the potential blowback to come. For now, Burns said, Putin is buying time, but when the time is right, Prigozhin may have a target on his back.
"Putin is someone who generally thinks that revenge is a dish best served cold," Burns told NPR's Mary Louise Kelly, adding that he is "the ultimate apostle of payback."
"He is going try to separate Prigozhin and undercut him, but preserve what's of value to him," Burns claimed.
In late June, Prigozhin accused Russia's defense ministry of carrying out a missile strike against Wagner positions at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, which he claimed had killed a "huge amount" of mercenaries.
In the tirade, Prigozhin said Russia's defense ministry "must be stopped" and the individuals responsible for the death of Wagner fighters must be punished. Moscow's security services responded by announcing a criminal case against Prigozhin, charging him with inciting an armed rebellion.
Within a day of Prigozhin's announcement, Wagner fighters captured the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, a central command for its war in Ukraine, and headed towards Moscow.
Days later, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko brokered a peace deal, forcing Prigozhin to call off the coup in exchange for immunity in Belarus.
"That video was the most scathing indictment of Putin's rationale for the war," Burns told Kelly, adding that it showed weaknesses and wounded Putin's "constructed image of being the arbiter of order."
Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that since last year, his government has paid Wagner close to $1 billion.
Wagner forces played a key role in capturing the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, and many of the 30,000 mercenaries employed by the company have fought for Kremlin interests in Syria and Africa.
Prigozhin, whose background was as a caterer, was seen as a crucial Putin ally prior to his failed rebellion.