Russian President Vladimir Putin sat down for an interview with an American newsperson for the first time since he waged war on Ukraine in 2022. The interviewer: none other than the contentious ex-Fox News commentator, Tucker Carlson.
This extensive two-hour discussion took place on Feb. 6 in Moscow.
It spanned a range of topics including the history of Russia, what triggered the war in Ukraine and how it can end, the Nord pipeline explosion and the prospective release of imprisoned Wall Street Journalist Evan Gershkovich.
Nearly the first half-hour of the interview was spent by Putin offering Carlson a history lesson about Russia. The monologue reached as far back as the eighth century.
Though Carlson initially thought this was used as a “filibustering technique,” he later concluded that Putin firmly believes “Russia has a historic claim to parts of western Ukraine.”
The war has recently seen Russian advancements into Ukraine territory and Carlson questioned if Putin’s goals for the war have been fulfilled.
“No,” Putin responded, “We haven’t achieved our aims yet because one of them is de-Nazification.” It should be noted that Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, is Jewish.
Carlson then asked if Putin would be satisfied with settling on the territory he has currently obtained through war. Putin reiterated his idea of de-nazifying Ukraine and did not directly answer Carlson’s question.
Later on, Carlson asked Putin what a solution for this war could be. Vladimir Putin said that an end could be possible if the United States stopped supplying aid to Ukraine.
“If you really want to stop fighting, you need to stop supplying weapons,” Putin said. Then he eerily added, “It will be over within weeks, that’s it, then we can agree on some terms.”
He said the end can be “very simple,” so long as the U.S. stops its supplement.
He urged the U.S. to convince Ukraine to discuss a deal.
“Do the United States need this? What for? Thousands of miles away from your national territory. Don’t you have anything better to do?” Putin said.
“You’ve issues on the border, issues with migration, issues with national debt…you have nothing better to do, so you fight in Ukraine?”
Since the start of this war, the U.S. has supplied Ukraine with more than 110 billion dollars of arms and aid.
Just last week, the U.S. Senate advanced a bill that would increase that number by $61 billion. It now faces a Republican majority House, which likely will deny it.
The U.S. shows no interest in discussing Putin’s terms. Putin said about President Biden, “Why would I call him? What should I talk to him about? Or beg him for what?”
Halfway through the interview, Carlson prodded about who blew up the Nord pipeline in September 2022.
“You for sure,” replied Putin.
Carlson then joked, “I was busy that day!”
To which Putin replied, “You personally may have an alibi, but the CIA has no such alibi.”
Putin provided no evidence.
This lengthy discussion ended when Carlson asked Putin to release Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges, back to the U.S., “as a sign of your decency.”
“We have done so many gestures of goodwill, out of decency, that I think we have run out of them,” Putin responded. But he did add, “We do not rule out that we can do that.”
He then alluded to the idea of Vadim Krasikov, an FSB agent serving a life sentence in Germany for murder, being released and swapped for Gershkovich.
Many believe that the murder Krasikov commited was ordered by Putin. A German court referred to it as a “state-ordered-murder.”
