By Yuliya Talmazan and Phil Helsel —
NBC News
Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an interview of more than two hours to Tucker Carlson, former host of the Fox News television network, published on the Internet on Thursday, in which he addressed various topics, from Ukraine to the Russian economy, but in which hardly contributed anything new.
Putin told Carlson that Russia has failed to achieve its war goals in its widely condemned invasion of neighboring Ukraine, and began the interview with a 20-minute, nearly uninterrupted history speech that focused on the days of Catherine the Great. Grande, Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796.
At one point, Carlson complimented Putin and said he wasn't boring, but added, "I don't know why it's relevant."
NBC News has not received details about the circumstances under which the interview was recorded.
Putin spoke in Russian and the translation was provided by Carlson's program.
Tucker Carlson interviews Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, February 6, 2024.Tucker Carlson Network via Reuters
Putin did not rule out that Russia could free jailed Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, who the United States says is unjustly detained, but suggested the U.S. would have to reach a deal.
There is an “ongoing dialogue between the special services,” he accepted.
“We want the American special services to think about how they can contribute to achieving the objectives pursued by ours.
We are willing to talk.
In addition,
talks are underway
,” Putin explained.
The Wall Street Journal rejected Putin's claim that Gershkovich, 32, was involved in "espionage," but reported Thursday that he was encouraged by any deal that could bring him home.
“Evan is a journalist, and journalism is not a crime.
Any representation that says otherwise is total fiction.
“Evan was unjustly arrested and has been unjustly detained by Russia for almost a year for doing his job, and we continue to demand his immediate release,” the newspaper stated.
It was Putin's first interview with a Western media outlet since his forces invaded Ukraine two years ago.
He uttered many familiar talking points and was almost unchallenged by Carlson.
Carlson has consistently repeated falsehoods, disinformation and conspiracy theories, and has openly criticized US support for Ukraine.
Referring to the sanctions that the United States and other countries imposed on Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine, Putin said: “The tools that the US uses do not work.”
Putin also asserted that he had a good personal relationship with former President George W. Bush.
“I also had that personal relationship with Trump,” he mentioned.
Asked if there could be renewed communication between the United States and Russia in an Administration after that of President Joe Biden, Putin said: “it is not about the leader, nor about the personality of a specific person.”
The interview was posted on Carlson's website around 6 p.m. Thursday, and his X account also shared it.
X, the social network owned by Elon Musk, has been blocked in Russia, along with Facebook and Instagram, since the early days of the war.
Russia has been plotting another long-awaited election victory for Putin in March, and its military has been gaining ground on the battlefield, while aid to Ukrainians is withheld in Congress by Republicans loyal to former President Donald Trump.
Carlson, who was fired from Fox News in April, has since become a freelance journalist.
Before the interview he boasted that he was the only one in the West willing to talk to Putin, a claim that was undermined by Russia, which indicated that Carlson got the interview precisely because of his pro-Russian stance in the Ukraine war.
Carlson has not only questioned US support for Ukraine, but has also appeared frequently on Kremlin propaganda channels since leaving Fox News.
Ukrainians were quick to criticize Carlson for talking to Putin while Russia continued bombing their country.
[Ukraine says Russia's largest airstrike left 30 dead and 160 injured]
“I hope they ask him why he kills civilians and attacks residential buildings,” said Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Criminals must be judged, not talked to.”
Carlson has also accused Western media outlets of not interviewing Putin, while they often speak at length with Zelenskyy.
NBC News' Keir Simmons interviewed Putin in Moscow in 2021, and former CNBC anchor and correspondent Hadley Gamble also spoke with him a few months before the war.
In December, NBC News interviewed Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Furthermore, untold numbers of Western journalists have repeatedly requested interviews with Putin,
only to be rejected by Russia.
Peskov himself contradicted Carlson's claim that no Western media had "bothered" to interview Putin, saying Wednesday that Russia receives "many requests" for interviews with him.
But Peskov also accused the Western media of being inherently biased against Putin, adding that “there is no desire to communicate with such media.”
In addition, he also added that the interview was granted to Carlson because his position “differs from the rest.”
Reporting from Russia during the war has proven dangerous for journalists at home and abroad after Russia enacted draconian legislation criminalizing criticism of its armed forces.
The laws have forced many Russian independent media outlets and Western news organizations
to move their operations out of the country.
Two American journalists are in Russian custody.
Gershkovich is still awaiting trial after his arrest last spring on charges of espionage, something his employer and the US government strongly deny.
Alsosu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), was detained in October and has been charged with failing to register as a foreign agent.
RFE/RL is a nonprofit news organization funded through the U.S. Agency for Global Media.
“Tucker Carlson should concentrate on his journalism and stop attacking other journalists, because doing so makes him the worst kind of presenter,” Tim Dawson, deputy secretary general of the International Federation of Journalists, told NBC News.
“Any honest attempt to understand President Putin is welcome.
It is sad that Tucker Carlson promotes his interview with invective and unproven falsehoods.”
[The aid plan for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan advances in the Senate after the failure of immigration reform]
Putin rarely interacts with the public, and has resorted to prepared speeches and official events to lash out at the West.
In December, he held his first major press conference since the start of the war, a carefully organized event in which only one Western media outlet had the opportunity to ask a question.
Carlson has openly questioned American support for Ukraine, accused the United States of provoking the Russian invasion, and criticized the Ukrainian government.
He is popular in Russia and is regularly cited by Russian propaganda media
as an authoritative pro-Moscow voice in the United States.
In the days leading up to the interview, Russian state media closely followed Carlson's every move, feverishly reporting on his visits to the Bolshoi Theater and the Russian version of McDonald's.
For Putin, Carlson's visit was a welcome distraction from a bleak winter in which Russia has grappled with a widespread public services crisis, growing protests from soldiers' wives and a potential challenge from Boris Nadezhdin, a surprisingly popular anti-war politician. .
“Carlson's help is invaluable to Putin,” Abbas Gallyamov, a Russian political analyst and former Putin speechwriter, said on his Telegram channel.
“You can't find momentum within the country, so Carlson is the main hope here.”
Fox News parted ways with Carlson in April after he agreed to pay nearly $800 million to Dominion Voting Systems to avoid a defamation lawsuit that had cast a shadow over the network's future.
In the run-up to the Dominion trial, Carlson's internal communications were made public, in which he was seen criticizing Trump and acknowledging that claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election were baseless.
Since then, he has launched a show on X and a subscription streaming service.
Shortly after leaving Fox News, Carlson also received job offers from the Russian propaganda network RT and from Vladimir Solovyov, a pro-Kremlin propagandist and commentator on Russian state television.
But Carlson has chosen to build his own brand.
In recent months he has interviewed Hungary's autocratic leader, Viktor Orbán, and Argentina's right-wing president, Javier Milei.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said earlier Thursday that no one in the United States should be fooled by Putin's attempts
to justify the invasion of Ukraine.
“He invaded a neighboring country without provocation.
Ukraine was not a threat to anyone, and the American people understand that.
And the American people understand why Ukraine is fighting,” Kirby added.
“Remember, you are listening to Vladimir Putin,” Kirby reiterated in a briefing.
“And you shouldn't take anything I say literally.”