Intelligence Chief Budanov: I don’t see China's readiness to provide Russia with weapons, Russians are trying to negotiate with Myanmar

Budanov said this in an interview with the Voice of America. 

"I don’t share this opinion. As of now, I don’t think that China will agree to transfer weapons to Russia ... I don’t see any signs that such things are even being discussed," Budanov said.

When the journalist made a remark that such assumptions are made by American officials, Budanov reiterated his position.

"I am the chief of intelligence and excuse me, but I don’t rely on the opinion, with all due respect, of individuals, I only rely on facts. I do not see such facts," said Budanov.

He added that currently Russia receives weapons only from Iran.

"If you are curious about countries, as I understand from your question, the only country that actually transfers more or less serious weapons is Iran. It’s not news. People were saying something was coming from North Korea, but we don't have any confirmation of that. And there's not a single case of us recording a weapon that came from North Korea and was used here. Maybe we just haven't seen it yet, or it's used for something else," Budanov said.

According to Budanov, Russia is looking for opportunities to buy any weapons, especially through third countries.

"Well, let's put it this way, other countries – Russia is just trying to buy anything from anywhere. Because they’ve got serious problems. Everyone in Russia counted on Serbia, but it refused to transfer weapons. There are certain attempts to buy through third countries, to import weapons on a large scale, more or less. Now they are trying to negotiate with Myanmar. We’ll see what comes of this. But in terms of weapons, Russia is limited by Iran. As of now," Budanov said.

• Earlier, CIA Director William Burns expressed confidence that China is considering providing Russia with lethal weapons.