It is a message lasting more than two hours to America and the West. It was delivered by Vladimir Putin to the American conservative journalist Tucker Carlson, in a long interview broadcast Thursday evening, the first granted to a Western journalist since the conflict in Ukraine. “So far there has been the ranting and shouting about (the need) to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield,” he told the former Fox host. News, in a large room where the two men sat face to face in white armchairs.
“But now they seem to realize that it is difficult to achieve, if not impossible. In my opinion, it is impossible by definition. It will never happen. It seems to me that now, those who are in power in the West are are also aware,” added the Russian president, who launched the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“If this achievement has been well understood, they must think about what comes next. We are ready for this dialogue,” he assured. The words of the master of the Kremlin, who spoke in Russian, were dubbed into English. Tucker Carlson, who regularly relays Moscow propaganda, announced with great fanfare this week that he was interviewing Vladimir Putin. The American journalist’s visit to Russia was widely covered by Russian state media.
“No interest” in Poland and Latvia
Vladimir Putin also affirmed that it was possible to find an agreement for the release of American journalist Evan Gershkovich, detained in Russia for almost a year. “I believe an agreement can be reached,” he said. “There is no taboo in resolving this issue. We are ready to resolve it but some terms are being discussed through special service channels.”
The Russian president also said he ruled out an invasion of Poland or Latvia. “Can you imagine a scenario in which you send Russian troops to Poland?” asked Tucker Carlson, a close friend of former US President Donald Trump. “Only in one scenario, if Poland attacks Russia,” replied Vladimir Putin. “We have no interests in Poland, Latvia or anywhere else. Why would we do that? We simply have no interests […]. There is no question of it,” he added.
The Russian president also affirmed that the election of a new American president, scheduled for November 5 and which should pit Republican Donald Trump against Democrat Joe Biden, would not change relations between the United States and Russia. . “You just asked me if anything would change if another leader came. It’s not a question of who the leader is, of the personality of a particular person,” Vladimir Putin said.
Both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are full of praise for each other. Donald Trump boasted, without further details, that he could resolve the war in Ukraine in 24 hours if he were re-elected. President Biden has described his Russian counterpart as a war criminal, and shows unwavering support for kyiv.