Everyone is to blame except Russia: what Putin said in an interview with Tucker Carlson

February 8, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson опубликовал his interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In his opening remarks, the journalist complained to the audience about the “irritatingly long excursion into history” from the Russian President at the beginning of the conversation. In addition to trying to enlighten the American journalist with his very original vision of Ukrainian history, Putin told Carlson a lot of strange and interesting things.

Photo: IStock

Carlson previously said he wanted to interview Putin because "Americans have a right to know everything they can about the war they are fighting." Carlson has often criticized U.S. support for Ukraine and called Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky a “Ukrainian pimp” and “rat-like.”

The conversation with Putin, filmed in Moscow, is the Russian president's first interview with Western media since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Tucker Carlson promised to ask Putin tough questions. As a result, he never mentioned Bucha, Mariupol and Navalny. But Putin was happy to repeat the same things, which often do not correspond to reality, that he always says.

The question of Ukraine

In response to Carlson's first question about why Russia invaded Ukraine, Putin launched into a 30-minute lecture on the history of Russia and Ukraine. Moreover, the data he cited is not only far from reality, most of them are outright fiction or twisting of facts. Putin then tried to justify the war with his favorite talking points about NATO expansion and the Alliance’s threats to Russia, as well as what he calls the “denazification” of Ukraine.

“We have not yet achieved our goals in Ukraine, because one of the goals is denazification. This refers to the prohibition of all neo-Nazi movements. We need to get rid of those people who put this theory and practice into practice and try to preserve it - that’s what denazification is,” Putin said.

“I once talked to Zelensky about this. I asked: “Volodya, what are you doing? Why do you support neo-Nazis in Ukraine today when your father fought against fascism? He is a front-line soldier." I won’t say what he answered, this is a separate issue, and I think it’s incorrect,” Putin said and... lied again.

An indisputable fact: Vladimir Zelensky’s father was born in 1947. That is, the leader of Russia called a “front-line soldier who fought the fascists” a person who was not even born at the time of the end of World War II.

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Tucker Carlson listened carefully to Putin’s arguments about “denazification,” but never asked the Russian president about the bombing of a hospital and theater in Mariupol, about the attack on a shopping center in Kremenchug, about the bodies of civilians on the streets of Bucha, about the removal of children from occupied territories and about arrests of civilians.

Putin spent more than 30 minutes telling his distorted version of the history of Russia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine. This monologue covered the period from Kievan Rus in the XNUMXth century to the reign of Vladimir Lenin at the beginning of the XNUMXth century.

When a perplexed Carlson finally persuaded Putin to return to our time, the Russian president accused the United States and other Western countries of prolonging the war in Ukraine.

Putin spent much of the interview complaining that Ukraine was on the verge of reaching a cessation of hostilities agreement at talks in Istanbul in April 2022 but backed down. According to him, after Russian troops were withdrawn from Kiev.

“There were peace negotiations with Ukraine, which were almost completed,” Putin said. “But then Ukraine threw away all these agreements and obeyed the instructions of Western countries, European countries and the United States to fight Russia to the very end.”

In addition, Putin repeated the statement that former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson obstructed peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

He said that a “huge document” was prepared and approved by the head of the Ukrainian delegation, but the British Prime Minister “dissuaded” Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky from signing it.

“The fact that the Ukrainian authorities submitted to the demands or persuasion of the former British Prime Minister Mr. Johnson, it seems to me that this is ridiculous and very, how to say, sad. Where is Mr. Johnson now? But the war continues,” Putin argued.

Johnson denied Putin's allegations, which were previously voiced by Moscow. In a January interview with The Times, Johnson called them “utter nonsense” and “Russian propaganda.”

When Carlson asked why there are no peace talks now that could end the war, Putin blamed Zelensky for everything. According to him, the head of Ukraine “issued a decree banning negotiations with Russia,” and that’s why they don’t exist now. True, to be more precise, the decree signed by Zelensky does not contain any prohibitions, but only a statement of the impossibility of holding negotiations - and not with Russia, but with its President Vladimir Putin.

Putin advised Zelensky in absentia to cancel this decree, “and that’s all.”

“We never refused negotiations. We hear all the time: is Russia ready? Yes, we didn’t refuse! They publicly refused. Well, let him cancel his decree and enter into negotiations. We never refused,” he repeated.

“Well, now let them think about how to turn the situation around,” Putin continued. - We do not mind. It would be funny if it weren't so sad. This endless mobilization in Ukraine, hysteria, internal problems, all this... Sooner or later we will come to an agreement anyway. And guess what? It may even sound strange in today’s situation: relations between peoples will be restored anyway.”

Putin is confident that “the West now understands that Russia will not be defeated,” despite assistance to Ukraine from the United States, Europe and NATO.

“Until now there has been hue and cry about inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield. But now, apparently, they are beginning to understand that this is difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. In my opinion, this is impossible by definition,” he said.

Plans to take over the world

The Russian President denied that Moscow has expansionist ambitions and plans to occupy sovereign Ukrainian territory. He said Russia was not interested in attacking Poland, Latvia or other European countries, and dismissed such claims as "merely peddling threats."

Asked if the Russian leader could imagine a scenario in which he would send Russian troops to Poland, a NATO member, Putin replied: “Only in one case, if Poland attacks Russia. Why? Because we have no interest in Poland, Latvia, or any other country. Why should we do this? We just don't have any interest."

Putin appeared to reject the idea of ​​using tactical nuclear weapons, suggesting that the idea was floated by Western leaders to "extort more money from American and European taxpayers."

“Getting involved in some kind of global war is contrary to common sense... And a global war will lead all of humanity to destruction,” Putin noted.

Last year, the Russian president deployed tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory. Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that strategic nuclear weapons can be used to protect the territories of Ukraine occupied by Russia.

Appeal to Americans

Putin suggested that the path to ending the war in Ukraine lies through direct negotiations between Washington and Moscow.

He addressed the United States Congress: “I will tell you what we are saying about this and what we are conveying to the US leadership. If you really want to stop the fighting, you need to stop the supply of weapons."

The head of the Russian Federation also addressed the Americans directly: “Do the Americans really have nothing to do? You have problems at the border. Problems with migration, problems with national debt. More than $33 trillion. Don't have anything to do? Why should you fight in Ukraine? Wouldn't it be better to come to an agreement with Russia? To come to an agreement, already understanding the situation that is developing today, understanding that Russia will fight for its interests to the end, and, understanding this, in fact, return to common sense, begin to respect our country, its interests and look for what some decisions."

Exchange of prisoners: the situation with journalist Gershkovich

Carlson has at least put pressure on Putin about Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter who has been detained in Russia since March 23 on espionage charges. Gershovich and the magazine deny the accusations. The US State Department officially recognized Gershkovich as illegally detained by Russia.

Putin said Gershovich, 32, was “caught red-handed while secretly receiving confidential information” and that he “worked for US intelligence agencies.”

When Putin said that Gershkovich was collaborating with US intelligence agencies, Carlson replied: “This guy is clearly not a spy, he is a child. He's a hostage."

“We have made so many goodwill gestures that it seems to me that we have run out of them,” Putin explained in response to Carlson’s question whether he was ready to release Gershkovich.

“No one has ever responded to our goodwill gestures with such gestures. But we are, in principle, ready to say that we do not exclude the possibility that we will be able to do this with counter-movement from our partners,” he concluded.

"America is a complicated country"

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 United States uses do not work.”

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According to the Russian president, he doesn’t even remember the last time he spoke with Biden - it was before the start of the war. Without going into detail, Putin said: “I told him then: I am sure that you are making a mistake of historic proportions by supporting everything that is happening there in Ukraine and pushing Russia away.”

The head of the Russian Federation said that he has good personal relations with the 43rd US President George W. Bush. “I also had such a personal relationship with Trump,” he emphasized.

Putin admitted that he considers America a “complicated country” in which it is unclear who makes decisions, if each state has its own legislation, and the state can influence not allowing a candidate to participate in the elections.

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