Russia thinks it can outsmart the US during Ukraine peace talks, a European intelligence chief says

Russian officials have no desire to halt Russia’s almost 4-year-old invasion of neighboring Ukraine and think they can “outsmart” the United States during talks with Washington about how to end the war, a senior European intelligence official told The Associated Press.

Kaupo Rosin, the head of Estonia’s foreign intelligence service, said Moscow is playing for time in the talks with Washington and “there is absolutely no discussion about how to really cooperate with the U.S. in a meaningful way.”

Rosin, who spoke at an online briefing with reporters ahead of the publication of Estonia’s annual security report on Tuesday, said the findings were based on intelligence his country gathered from “Russian internal discussions.” He did not elaborate on how the information was obtained.

Russian officials have publicly insisted they want a negotiated deal, but they show little willingness to compromise and remain adamant their demands must be met.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, “in his head, still thinks that he can actually militarily win (in Ukraine) at some point,” Rosin said.