image source, tucker carlson network
Mr. Carlson interviewed the Russian president in the Kremlin.
American conservative media personality Tucker Carlson has released a controversial interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Carlson said the more than two-hour video was shot in Moscow on Tuesday.
It will be the first time a Russian leader has met with Western journalists since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The interview began with a question about why Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine.
“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 at length for more than 30 minutes about the history of Eastern Europe, starting with the establishment of the Russian state in the 9th century.
The Russian president claimed that parts of Ukraine had long belonged to Russia. He has offered various justifications for the invasion.
Ahead of the interview, Karlsson claimed that “not a single Western journalist has bothered to interview” Putin since 2022.
But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the BBC: “Mr Karlsson is not right. Mr Karlsson could not have known that. We have received many requests for interviews with the president.” .
Countless Western reporters, including the BBC’s Russia editor Steve Rosenberg, have repeatedly sent interview requests to the Kremlin.
All BBC requests for an interview were ignored.
Russian state media spent several days reporting on Karlsson’s visit, broadcasting footage of him visiting restaurants and watching the ballet “Spartacus” 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.
More than 120 million people watched at least his introductory video on X, but that number has dropped dramatically, with most of his recent videos receiving fewer than 10 million views. The company, formerly known as His Twitter, says it counts at least two seconds of his viewing time as a “view.”