Tuvo que hacer oídos sordos porque si hubiera seguido sus consejos, habría aprendido cómo la experiencia les había enseñado que los rusos consideran tales concesiones un signo de debilidad.
He must have turned a deaf ear to them, because had he heeded their advice, he would have learnt how experience had taught them that Russians consider any such concessions to be a sign of weakness.