The Kremlin confirmed Wednesday that former Fox News host Tucker Carlson interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to Moscow, but he says Western journalists were unwilling to interview him throughout the war. refuted the claim.
Russian state media reported that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov initially declined to comment on the matter, but addressed the growing speculation at a press conference.
Hours earlier, Carlson published a video on X (formerly Twitter) in which he said he would interview the Russian president because “Americans have a right to know everything they can about the war they are involved in.” announced.
Carlson officiated. tucker carlson tonight He served from 2016 to 2023 and was fired from the agency in April 2023 without any formal explanation.
“Yes, I can confirm this,” Peskov said. “As soon as possible [the interview] It will be released when it is ready. ”
When asked by reporters why President Putin agreed to an interview with conservative media figure Karlsson, a Kremlin spokesman said: “He has a different position than other people.” [of Western media]. ”
“It’s not pro-Russian, it’s not pro-Ukrainian, it’s actually pro-American, but at least it’s in sharp contrast to the traditional Anglo-Saxon media position,” Peskov added.
But Peskov said it was “wrong” for Carlson to suggest that Western journalists had not attempted to interview Putin, adding that the former Fox News host had published a lengthy interview with the Russian leader. claimed in the video.
“The fact is that he cannot know this. We receive many requests for interviews with the president,” Peskov said.
In his announcement video, Carlson said he wanted to be interviewed because “most Americans are in the dark” about the war in Ukraine, which began when President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Although many Western journalists have interviewed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, “no Western journalists have bothered to interview” the Russian president, Carlson claimed.
“That’s not journalism. It’s government propaganda,” he said.
This claim was immediately met with backlash from journalists at multiple publications.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Steve Rosenberg, the BBC’s Russia editor, said in a post on X that the BBC “has made several requests to the Kremlin over the past 18 months. For us, the answer has always been ‘no’.”
“Does Mr. Tucker really think that we journalists haven’t tried to interview him every day since Putin invaded Ukraine in earnest? That’s ridiculous. We’ve been doing this for years. “We will continue to seek interviews, as we have done,” CNN said. Chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour told X.
Before leaving Fox News, Carlson faced criticism from the left over several issues, including criticism of Zelensky and his stance on the Ukraine war, which had earned him praise among Kremlin propagandists. Ta.
Peskov declined to comment on exactly when the interview would be published.
“I don’t want to get ahead of myself. After all, this is his interview, so when it is ready for publication, most likely he will first tell all the details himself,” Peskov said.
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Updated February 7, 24, 7:27 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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