Mike Pompeo dodges questions on his praise for Putin as ‘talented’ and ‘savvy’

Former secretary of state scoots away on an orthopaedic scooter rather than answer questions from The Independent

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday exhibited no desire to revisit the glowing opinion of Vladimir Putin he’d shared across multiple news appearances this year after the Russian president ordered an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on Wednesday.

Mr Pompeo, who earlier that day told Conservative Political Action Conference attendees there was “no greater threat” to the US than public schools that do not teach history in ways that do not offend conservatives, praised Mr Putin as “talented” and “savvy” in an interview last week.

In a separate interview, the former top US diplomat said he had “enormous respect” for Mr Putin, who has kept himself in power for more than two decades by imprisoning or killing opposition figures and political opponents.

“Very shrewd. Very capable. I have enormous respect for him,” Mr Pompeo said while speaking to the Center for the National Interest.

But when The Independent asked him whether he regretted the comments, Mr Pompeo declined to answer the question.

The former diplomat and potential 2024 presidential candidate also dodged follow-up questions from The Independent on whether unprovoked invasions of other countries are ever “savvy”, before leaving on an orthopaedic scooter.

Mr Pompeo is the only former secretary of state to offer praise for Mr Putin in the days before or after his invasion of Ukraine.

On Friday, he also joined many other fellow Republicans in blaming President Joe Biden for the invasion, which was ordered by Mr Putin late on Wednesday.

“We've seen a Russian dictator now terrorise the Ukrainian people because America didn't demonstrate the resolve that we did for the four years prior,” he said.

He also claimed the crisis would not have unfolded were Donald Trump still president – despite Mr Trump repeatedly taking an apparently subservient attitude to his Russian counterpart, even siding with him against US intelligence agencies during a news conference in Helsinki.

Mr Pompeo said: “It was peace through strength. It was Reagan's model. It was the model we used for four years in the Trump administration. We put America first and we told people around the world you cannot tread on us.”

Recalling criticism of the administration he was a senior member of, he said: “I remember, we were the barbarians, we were the rubes, we didn't know what we were doing. We're pretty competent now.

“I say that not in joy but in sorrow. America demands good leadership and the world depends on it.”