- Written by Will Vernon and Mike Wendling
- bbc news
Video: The moment Carlson asks Putin if he will release detained American journalists
President Vladimir Putin has said he believes he can reach an agreement to release Evan Gershkovitch, an American journalist who was detained in Russia last year.
In a meeting with American host Tucker Carlson, President Putin said talks were continuing with the United States regarding journalists detained on suspicion of espionage.
In the interview, Putin made clear statements about Ukraine, the US president, and the CIA.
It is the first time a Russian leader has met with Western journalists since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
The exclusive program thrust Carlson and his fledgling media company back into the spotlight following the conservative firebrand’s abrupt exit from Fox News last year.
Putin said he believed an agreement on the release of Gershkovych, 32, could be reached “if our partners take mutual steps.”
“The special services are in contact with each other. They are talking… I believe they can reach an agreement.”
Gershkovych, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was arrested on March 29 last year in the city of Yekaterinburg, about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) east of Moscow.
In January, Russia extended pretrial detention again until the end of March. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
Mr. Karlsson asked Mr. Putin if he intended to immediately release the journalists, to which he replied, “We will bring them back to the United States.”
But the Russian president claimed that Mr. Gershkovych, who is not yet on trial, had received classified information, hinting at who Russia would accept in a prisoner swap.
Putin said, “Some people, out of patriotic feelings, [who] During the events in the Caucasus, he eliminated bandits in one of the European capitals. ”
It is almost certainly a reference to FSB assassin Vadim Krasikov, who is currently imprisoned in Germany after shooting dead Georgian military officer Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in a Berlin park in 2019.
The interview, which lasted more than two hours, was filmed in Moscow on Tuesday.
The meeting began with a question about why President Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
“Why do you believe the United States could suddenly attack Russia?” Carlson asked. “How did you come to that conclusion?”
“The United States was not trying to launch a surprise attack on Russia,” Putin said through an interpreter. “I didn’t say that. Are you having a talk show or a serious conversation?”
Putin then spoke for more than 30 minutes about the history of Eastern Europe, starting with the establishment of the Russian state in the 9th century.
Putin has repeatedly offered a variety of justifications for the invasion, including well-worn lies about Ukraine’s history, historical grievances about the collapse of the Soviet Union and the expansion of NATO, and claims that Ukraine is infested with neo-Nazis. Ta.
He also spoke at length about the start of the invasion and repeated false claims that Russia was not attacking Ukraine. Putin says Russia is only responding to threats to its national security.
Karlsson is accused of war crimes committed by Russian soldiers in places such as Bucha, the forcible removal of Ukrainian children to Russia that led to the issuance of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Putin, the deaths of political opponents and the imprisonment of dissidents. I didn’t ask about it. Leader Alexei Navalny.
Putin insisted that Russia had no interest in invading Poland, Latvia or other NATO countries, calling such a scenario “totally out of the question.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in an interview that it was “obviously ridiculous” for Mr Putin to blame the West for the war.
The Russian leader also spoke about his relationship with the American president, mentioning earlier about Bill Clinton, who hinted at the possibility of Russia joining NATO, only to withdraw that option shortly thereafter. repeated.
He said he had a “very good relationship” with George W. Bush.
“He was no better than any other American, Russian or European politician,” Putin said. “I assure you he knew what he was doing as well as anyone else. I also had a very personal relationship with Mr. Trump.”
President Putin said he could not remember the last time he spoke to President Joe Biden.
Prior to the interview, Karlsson said that since 2022, “not a single Western journalist has bothered to interview” Putin.
Countless Western reporters, including the BBC’s Russia editor Steve Rosenberg, have repeatedly sent interview requests to the Kremlin. All of the BBC’s requests were ignored.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed this, telling the BBC: “Mr Karlsson’s statements are incorrect and he could not have known about them. We have received many requests for interviews with the president. ” he said.
Russian state media covered Karlsson’s visit for several days, broadcasting footage of various trips to restaurants and a visit to see the Spartacus Ballet at the Bolshoi Theater.
Carlson was Fox News’ highest-rated prime-time host until he was taken off the air in April 2023, for reasons the network did not disclose.
He started his own media company and found an outlet on X (formerly Twitter).
The content on the Tucker Carlson Network primarily consists of friendly interviews with right-wing politicians (including a chat with Donald Trump timed to the Republican presidential debates) and interviews with figures like Andrew Tate and Russell Brand. Consists of friendly interviews.