Tucker Carlson shared a lengthy interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin, discussing the political leader’s justification for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The video, which lasts more than two hours, is the first time a Russian leader has been interviewed by a Western journalist since the conflict began nearly two years ago.
“As you can see, this interview is primarily about the ongoing war, the Ukraine war, how it started, what’s going on, and the most pressing issues,” Carlson said at the beginning of the interview. “And how it will end,” he said. A video of him standing in front of the Kremlin and talking to the camera. “At the beginning of the interview, we asked the most obvious question, which is, ‘Why did you do this?’ Did you feel threatened, an imminent physical threat, and was it Is your justification? The answer we got shocked us. Putin went on for a very long time, maybe half an hour, about the history of Russia dating back to the 8th century. And honestly. I mean, we thought this was a filibustering technique, but we found it annoying and interrupted him several times.”
“But in the end, we came to the conclusion, of course, that it wasn’t a filibuster technique. There was no time limit on the interview. It ended after two hours. Rather, it was something you agreed to do. “Whether you do it or not, what you’re about to see seemed sincere to us,” Carlson continued. “President Vladimir Putin believes that Russia has historical claims to parts of western Ukraine. Therefore, from that point of view, our opinion is a sincere expression of his thoughts. to consider it to be.”
Mr. Carlson announced the interview on the same Tuesday that it took place in the Moscow Kremlin. At the time, the former Fox News anchor claimed that “not a single Western journalist bothered to interview the president of the other country in this conflict.” The Kremlin denied the allegations, saying it had rejected requests from multiple publications to meet with Putin. Furthermore, in March 2022, shortly after the invasion of Ukraine, Russia passed a law making it illegal to publish “false information” about the military, and many news organizations detained their staff abroad.
During the interview, Carlson brought up the topic of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been incarcerated for more than 250 days on espionage charges, and who has been in prison for more than 250 days on espionage charges. The paper denies this. The anchor expressed his hope that Gershković would be released.
Asked about the possibility of Gershkovych’s release, Putin said: “We have done so many good acts of common sense that I think we have exhausted them.” “We have never seen anyone who would reward us in the same way…I do not exclude the possibility that the person you mentioned will return to his homeland. We want you to think about how you can help achieve the goals that our special services are pursuing.”
When asked to explain the alliance’s obstacles in the geopolitical situation, Putin became even more equivocal.
“Listen, you said the world is splitting into two hemispheres. The human brain is divided into two hemispheres. One is responsible for one type of activity and the other is responsible for creativity. etc. But it’s still in the same head,” Putin said. “The world should be one whole. Security should be shared, not demanding billions of money. That is the only way the world can be stable, sustainable and predictable. This is the scenario. Until then, while the head is split into two parts, it is a disease and a serious condition.”
Mr. Carlson shared the full interview for free viewing through the Tucker Carlson Network. The network is a digital platform he launched after leaving Fox News last summer, touting it as an “alternative to legacy media.”