By the end of the conversation, it was clear that Putin had no intention of ending his brutal war against Ukraine. But Carlson, who was fired from Fox last year, seemed ready to give up. Putin offered to continue the conversation. Carlson, clearly exhausted by the Russian leader's long-standing conspiracy theories and grievances against the West, thanked him and called for a standstill — far short of the media coup he was promoting.
Instead, analysts said, the choice to speak to Carlson was based in part on his perceived sympathy — the former Fox host has repeatedly dismissed criticism of Putin over the years — and the opportunity to appeal more to the GOP's MAGA base during the election. year. This could boost Donald Trump's chances of re-election and persuade Republicans to continue blocking US military aid to Ukraine.
Carlson spent most of the two-hour interview in silence, or appearing confused.
He did not ask a single question about Russian attacks on civilian areas or critical infrastructure in Ukraine, which resulted in thousands of deaths. There was no mention of the war crimes the Russian leader faces, such as the forced deportation of Ukrainian children. Also absent were questions about Russia's sweeping political crackdowns on Putin's critics or the long prison sentences handed down to ordinary Russian citizens who organized anti-war protests.
Instead, Carlson asked increasingly esoteric questions – including whether any world leader could be a true Christian – and at times appeared to goad Putin into claiming the existence of an American deep state and promoting other conspiracy theories.
At several moments, when Carlson tried to intervene, the president reprimanded him.
“I'll tell you, I'm coming to that. This briefing is coming to an end. It may be boring, but it explains a lot of things,” Putin said in a condescending tone.
“It's not boring. [I’m] “I'm not sure how it fits,” Carlson said. Putin responded that he was “delighted” and appreciated it.
The Russian leader also reused the justifications he gave for invading Ukraine, including “denazification” of the country.
“If they consider themselves a separate people, they have the right to do so. But not on the basis of Nazism, but on the basis of Nazi ideology,” Putin said, adding that Ukraine is a satellite state of the United States.
The president also claimed that Moscow withdrew its forces from Kiev in 2022 as part of the peace deal. In April 2022, Kiev was able to repel invading Russian forces from the capital.
At one point, Putin sternly warned the West against sending its troops to fight in Ukraine, then asked why the United States was intervening in the conflict instead of taking care of its own problems. He said Washington should be willing to reach an agreement with Russia to end the war (ignoring the obvious fact that Kiev would not agree to this).
“Well, if someone had the desire to send regular forces, that would certainly push humanity to the brink of a very dangerous global conflict – that is clear,” Putin said.
Does the United States need this? For what purpose? Thousands of miles from your national territory. Don't you have anything better to do? You have problems at the border. Immigration issues, and national debt issues. More than 33 trillion dollars. Don't have anything better to do? So should you fight in Ukraine? Wouldn't it be better to negotiate with Russia? Make an agreement.
“Realizing that Russia will fight for its interests to the end,” Putin said, such an agreement would be “a return to common sense.”
In some of his most direct comments on the case, Putin said that Wall Street Journal reporter Ivan Gershkovich, who was detained while on a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg last year, was detained because he “works for the American intelligence services.”
Putin claimed that Gershkovitch, accused of espionage and imprisoned since March last year, “was caught red-handed when he was secretly obtaining confidential information.”
Gershkovitch, the Wall Street Journal and the White House have strongly denied the charges.
“Ivan is a journalist, and journalism is not a crime. Any portrayal to the contrary is complete fiction,” the newspaper said in a statement on Thursday. “Ivan was wrongfully arrested and unjustly detained by Russia for almost a year for doing his job, and we continue to demand his immediate release.”
Late last year, the State Department said the Kremlin had rejected a “major offer” that would have led to the release of Gershkovitch and Paul Whelan, a former US Marine also imprisoned in Russia.
But during the interview with Carlson, Putin said he believed an agreement on the exchange was possible, and that he hoped Gershkovitch could return to his homeland, but claimed there had been “a lot of signs of good will” and he had “run out of them.”
