Controversial US media personality Tucker Carlson has recently interviewed Russia's President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin confirmed Wednesday.
According to Sky News, Putin and Carlson met on Tuesday, and the interview will be aired on Thursday. It is Putin's first interview with a Western media figure since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly two years ago.
Russia Confirms Tucker Carlson's Interview With Vladimir Putin
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Vladimir Putin agreed to be interviewed by Tucker Carlson because the former Fox News host's approach differed from the traditional Western news media's "one-sided" reporting.
According to Peskov, when it comes to the countries of the collective West, the large network media, TV channels, and newspapers take an "exceptionally one-sided position" and "can in no way boast of even trying to at least look impartial in terms of coverage."
"Of course, there is no desire to communicate with such media, and it hardly makes sense, and it is unlikely that it will be useful," Peskov noted.
He added that Putin agreed to be interviewed by Carlson because he was in "no way pro-Russian" nor "pro-Ukrainian" but a pro-American who "contrasts with the position of the traditional Anglo-Saxon media."
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Tucker Carlson Talks About Interviewing Vladimir Putin in Russia
In a video shared on the social media platform X on Tuesday, Tucker Carlson, who is currently visiting Moscow, said he was interviewing the Russian president "because it's our job. We're in journalism. Our duty is to inform people."
"Not a single Western journalist has bothered to interview the president of the other country involved in this conflict, Vladimir Putin," Carlson said, a claim that Peskov and journalists covering Russia rejected.
Peskov noted that the Kremlin had already received many requests from big Western TV channels and newspapers but only picked Carlson because "his position is different from the others."
According to Carlson, there have been "scores" of interviews with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which he said were "fawning pep sessions" designed to get the US into a war with eastern Europe and pay for it.
He said: "Americans have a right to know about the war they are implicated in... We are not here because we love Vladimir Putin. We are here because we love the United States, and we want it to remain prosperous and free."
Carlson described the war in Ukraine as a "human disaster" with significant global implications. However, he noted that the English-speaking populations remain "seem mostly unaware" of the conflict's true nature due to a lack of truthful reporting.
Carlson, a vocal supporter of Putin who was fired from Fox News last April, said the interview with the Russian president will be posted on his website and X, formerly known as Twitter.
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