MOSCOW: For the first time since the beginning of the Russia-Ukrainian war, President Vladimir Putin appeared in a Western-based interview with Tucker Carlson, a freelance journalist, and former Fox News employee.
In the two-hour-long interview, Putin and Carlson covered many topics, such as the Ukraine war and US-Russia ties, among others, Al Jazeera reported.
In relation to the Russia-Ukraine war, Putin warned that defeating Russia in Ukraine is “impossible by definition,” but insisted that he does not aim to extend the war into neighbouring countries unless attacked first.
He denied having territorial ambitions across Europe. “It is absolutely out of the question. You just don’t have to be any kind of analyst; it goes against common sense to get involved in some kind of global war, and a global war will bring all of humanity to the brink of devastation.”
Putin stated that his government was in contact with the United States and that a peaceful resolution to the war would only be possible if Washington stopped supplying weapons to Ukraine.
He said: “I will tell you what we are saying on this matter and what we are conveying to the US leadership: if you want to stop fighting, you need to stop supplying weapons. It will be over within a few weeks, and then we can agree on some terms.”
He further said that he is not against discussing peace with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
When Carlson asked the Russian leader whether he would be open to freeing Wall Street Journal writer Evan Gershkovich from prison as a “sign of your decency,” Putin said that a deal is conceivable and that there is “no taboo” around settling the matter.
“We have done so many gestures of goodwill out of decency that I think we have run out of them. No, we have never seen anyone similarly reciprocate to us. However, in theory, we can say that we do not rule out that we can do that if our partners take reciprocal steps,” Putin said.
