Putin gives interview to controversial journalist Tucker Carlson

For the first time since the invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Putin has been interviewed by someone from the West. The conversation, which was posted online at midnight, was with Tucker Carlson, the controversial American presenter and opinion maker who was fired from Fox News last year.

In the interview, Putin says, among other things, in response to a question from Carlson that he will not attack NATO country Poland first:

He further notes that an agreement on the release of journalist Evan Gershkovich is possible. “There is no taboo to settle this matter.” Gershkovich, who worked for Wall Street Journal, was arrested in March last year on espionage charges .

Want negotiations

In the interview, Putin calls on the United States to negotiate with Russia. According to the Russian leader, American citizens are being “brainwashed” by politicians to finance the war in Ukraine.

“Don’t you have anything better to do?” Putin asks out loud. “You have problems at the border, with migration, problems with the national debt. So should you fight in Ukraine? Wouldn’t it be better to negotiate with Russia? To reach an agreement?”

The interview had previously been recorded and was broadcast last night via Carlson’s website. The presenter announced it this week with a buzzing promotional speech . There was a lot of criticism about this: there was talk of a propaganda stunt.

Putin has had little contact with Western media in the past two years. The Kremlin said that interview requests were received, but that they were rejected. An exception has been made for Carlson because “his position differs from the traditional Anglo-Saxon media,” according to a Kremlin spokesman.