British journalist Lionel Barber:

British journalist Lionel Barber: [Who was the most difficult person to interview?] Vladimir Putin. [Would it be cool to interview him?] I already did. In 2019. In the Kremlin. [Wow!] He kept me waiting for four hours. [Okay] When you talk to him, and his transparent eyes pierce you through, it’s scary. [Did you manage to get anything out of him that you really wanted?] You have to prepare for interviews with such characters. So I called Bill Burns, who is now the head of the CIA. I asked him to suggest a question that he would ask Putin. “Mr. President, is it fair to say that your risk appetite has increased in 20 years?“ Putin replied: “The Russians have a saying. He who does not take risks does not drink champagne!“ And if you remember what happened eighteen months later with Ukraine. [He drinks champagne] Putin was overcome with excitement. Source: Slavyangrad