Kremlin. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to an American journalist for the first time since the start of the Russia-Ukraine War. Former FOX News Host Tucker Carlson met with Putin at the Kremlin. Putin answered many questions, from the invasion of Ukraine to the expansion of NATO. It was noteworthy that Putin, in his speech, intimidated Western leaders by emphasizing that it was “impossible” to defeat Russia in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The interview, recorded in Moscow, was published on Carlson’s website and on the X platform, formerly Twitter. In his interview with Tucker Carlson, who left Fox News because of his views against American state policy, Putin talked about Russia’s history in the first half hour, implicitly belittling the US education system and the historical knowledge of Americans. During the interview, he justified Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with historical territorial claims and harshly criticized NATO and the USA.
The interview, which lasted about two hours, was recorded on Tuesday and aired in prime time in the United States on Thursday evening. Television personality Carlson, who was known for spreading fake news and conspiracy theories at his former employer Fox News, was criticized by many for not intervening in Putin’s long statements. Critics criticize Carlson “While Putin dominated the conversation, Carlson avoided describing Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine as such or mentioning an invasion” he criticized.
Ep. 73 The Vladimir Putin Interview pic.twitter.com/67YuZRkfLL
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 8, 2024
In the interview in Moscow, Putin claimed that Russia had been “deceived” by the West following the end of the Cold War. Putin claimed that the conflict in Ukraine was fueled by the state coup in this country. “The Ukrainian administration started the war in 2014. Our goal is to stop this war. “We did not start a war in 2022, we tried to end it.” His statements attracted attention. Putin answered the question about the possibility of peace negotiations with Ukraine: “Such a negotiation process was being carried out, and it had almost reached the completion point. However, as I said, when we withdrew our army units from the area around Kiev, Ukraine began to throw away all the agreements we had reached and comply with the instructions of European countries and the United States to fight until victory against Russia.” he replied.
NATO countries instill fear in their citizens by creating an ‘imaginary Russian threat’
In his interview with Carlson, the Kremlin leader added, among other things, that Russia’s invasion of the NATO countries Poland and Latvia was basically “absolutely out of the question”. Putin declared that Russia has no interests in Poland, Latvia or other countries unless these countries attack Russia, and therefore fears of a Russian attack are unfounded. „Why would we do this? “We have no interest” said. „Some kind of global war“ Stating that involvement is against common sense, Putin called on NATO countries to „intimidating its own citizens under the pretext of an imaginary Russian threat” he accused.
Towards the end of the interview, Putin said that they were ready for dialogue regarding the war in Ukraine, and that it was time for talks because the West must understand that it cannot win this conflict militarily. Putin, „Sooner or later this will result in an agreement. “Once this awareness arises, they (the West) will have to think about what to do next.” said.
Putin announced the conditions for the release of US journalist
Carlson also directly mentioned to Putin about US journalist Evan Gershkovich, who is detained in Russia, and asked if there was a chance of his release. Putin responded to the question about detained Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Evan Gershkovich by “accusing the journalist of espionage” as follows: “However, there are some terms discussed in private service channels. I believe an agreement can be reached. “Gershkovich conspired and secretly collected information, and what he did was espionage.” On the other hand, the Kremlin leader hinting at the possibility of a prisoner exchange „There is no point in keeping him in prison in Russia. “The United States should think about how it can contribute to the solution.” said.
Gershkovich, an American journalist working for the Wall Street Journal, was arrested during a reporting trip to Jekaterinburg in the Urals at the end of March 2023, and the Russian Prosecutor’s Office accused him of espionage.
Interview with Putin caused controversy
Tucker Carlson released a video where he reflects on the outcomes of the interview with Vladimir Putin:
“You’d have to be crazy to think that Russia will give up Crimea.”
“You’d have to be an idiot to think that Russia is an expansionist power; it’s already huge and doesn’t… pic.twitter.com/o7xqtAUcXw
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) February 9, 2024
American journalist Tucker Carlson’s announcement that he would interview Russian President Vladimir Putin caused controversy. Carlson had publicized the pre-recorded interview as a major media event for days. As Russian Political Scientist Tatyana Stanovaya noted, the interview with the 54-year-old talk show host may have served as a welcome setting for the internationally criticized Kremlin leader ahead of Russia’s presidential elections on March 17. It was claimed that Putin used Carlson for his own purposes in order to reach US audiences.
Former Fox News host Carlson reaches millions of viewers through social networks. Last year, he was fired by the conservative US broadcaster without giving any reason for his dismissal. He hosted a highly rated evening program on this channel for years. Carlson was alleged to have used this program to incite hatred against the Democratic Party and minorities with false claims. Shortly after leaving Fox News, he started his own show on channel X. ( news)
2024-02-09 13:48:02