Russian President Vladimir Putin used an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson to urge Washington to recognize Moscow’s interests and persuade Ukraine to sit down for talks. Putin also said that Russia stands ready to negotiate a potential prisoner exchange that would free Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was detained last March on espionage charges he denies, and hinted that Moscow wants the release of its agent imprisoned in Germany.
Quick Read
- Putin’s Interview with Carlson: Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, emphasizing the need for the US to acknowledge Moscow’s interests and persuade Ukraine to negotiate.
- Prisoner Exchange Proposal: Putin expressed willingness to discuss a prisoner swap involving Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, detained in Russia on espionage charges, hinting at a desire for the release of a Russian agent imprisoned in Germany.
- Focus on Ukraine: The interview largely revolved around the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, with Putin reiterating his stance that the invasion was to protect Russian speakers and prevent Ukraine’s NATO membership.
- Call for Negotiations: Putin criticized Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s refusal to engage in talks, urging the US to halt arms supplies to Ukraine and encourage dialogue.
- Denial of Aggression Plans: Putin dismissed claims of intending to attack Poland or other NATO countries, warning the West against attempting to strategically defeat Russia in Ukraine.
- White House Reaction: The White House downplayed the significance of the interview, cautioning against taking Putin’s statements at face value.
- Russian Media Coverage: The interview received extensive coverage in Russian state media, with attention to Carlson’s visit and activities in Moscow.
- Limited International Media Contact: Putin has reduced interactions with international media since the start of the Ukraine conflict, amid a crackdown on independent and foreign journalists in Russia.
- Gershkovich’s Detention: Putin suggested a potential deal for Gershkovich’s release but reiterated espionage charges against the journalist, which have been denied.
- Speculated Exchange Subject: Putin’s reference to a patriot imprisoned in a European country likely pertains to Vadim Krasikov, convicted in Germany for a 2019 assassination ordered by Russian authorities.
- Wall Street Journal’s Response: The Wall Street Journal reaffirmed Gershkovich’s role as a journalist and expressed hope for his swift release, dismissing any portrayal of his actions as criminal.
The Associated Press has the story:
Putin urges US to push Ukraine to talks, hints at WSJ reporter possible swap
Newslooks- (AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin used an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson to urge Washington to recognize Moscow’s interests and persuade Ukraine to sit down for talks.
Putin also said that Russia stands ready to negotiate a potential prisoner exchange that would free Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was detained last March on espionage charges he denies, and hinted that Moscow wants the release of its agent imprisoned in Germany.
Most of the interview, released Thursday, focused on Ukraine, where the war is nearing the two-year mark. Putin repeated his claim that his invasion of Ukraine, which Kyiv and its allies described as an unprovoked act of aggression, was necessary to protect Russian speakers in Ukraine and prevent the country from posing a threat to Russia by joining NATO.
Putin pointed at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s refusal to conduct talks with the Kremlin. He argued that it’s up to Washington to stop supplying Ukraine with weapons and convince Kyiv, which he called a U.S. “satellite,” to sit down for negotiations.
“We have never refused negotiations,” Putin said. “You should tell the current Ukrainian leadership to stop and come to a negotiating table.”
Putin warned that the West will never succeed in inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia in Ukraine and rejected allegations that Russia was harboring plans to attack Poland or other NATO countries.
It was Putin’s first interview with a Western media figure since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby tried to minimize the impact of Carlson’s interview ahead of its release: “Remember, you’re listening to Vladimir Putin. And you shouldn’t take at face value anything he has to say.”
In Russia, the interview received wall-to-wall coverage in state media on Friday morning, with major TV channels repeatedly airing excerpts and one state news agency describing it in a column as “a dagger blow through the curtain of propaganda of the dishonest media of the civilized world.”
In the days leading up to the release of the interview, Russian Kremlin-backed media also extensively covered Carlson’s visit to Russia, trying to follow him around Moscow and reporting in great detail on where the former Fox News host went.
Putin has heavily limited his contact with international media since he launched the war in Ukraine in February 2022. Russian authorities have cracked down on independent media, forcing some Russian outlets to close, blocking others and ordering a number of foreign reporters to leave the country. Two journalists working for U.S. news organizations — The Wall Street Journal’s Gershkovich and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Alsu Kurmasheva — are in jail.
Asked by Carlson whether Russia would release Gershkovich, Putin said Moscow is open to talks but repeated that the reporter was charged with espionage, an accusation Gershkovich has denied.
“He was caught red-handed when he was secretly getting classified information,” Putin said of Gershkovich, adding that he doesn’t exclude that the reporter could return home.
“There is no taboo on settling this issue,” Putin said. “We are ready to solve it but there are certain conditions that are being discussed between special services. I believe an agreement can be reached.”
He pointed to a man imprisoned in a “U.S.-allied country” for “liquidating a bandit” who killed Russian soldiers during the fighting in the Caucasus: “He put our soldiers taken prisoners on a road and then drove a car over their heads. There was a patriot who liquidated him in one of the European capitals.”
Putin didn’t mention names, but he appeared to refer to Vadim Krasikov, a Russian serving a life sentence in Germany after being convicted of the 2019 brazen daylight killing of Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen of Chechen ethnicity.
German judges who convicted Krasikov said he had acted on the orders of Russian federal authorities, who provided him with a false identity, a fake passport and the resources to carry out the hit.
The Wall Street Journal reaffirmed in a statement that Gershkovich “is a journalist, and journalism is not a crime,” adding that “any portrayal to the contrary is total fiction.” “We’re encouraged to see Russia’s desire for a deal that brings Evan home, and we hope this will lead to his rapid release and return to his family and our newsroom,” it said.
