Fired from Fox News, courted by the Kremlin in Moscow: Tucker Carlson is the first US interviewer since the start of the Ukraine war to be granted an interview with the Kremlin boss. And avoid critical questions.
The Kremlin has expressed satisfaction with the interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin conducted by US talk show host Tucker Carlson and its impact in the press. “For us, what is most important is the reaction of our people,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
It is of great value that many people, especially in Russia, can familiarize themselves with the interview. “Putin talks about his world views and his view of the reasons for the current situation and the prospects of what is happening,” said Peskov. It was the first time since the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine that the Kremlin chief was questioned in detail by a US interviewer.
Is there a risk of war with Poland?
In an interview with Carlson, the Kremlin chief said, among other things, that a Russian invasion of the NATO states Poland and Latvia was “absolutely impossible” – with one exception. Asked whether he could imagine a scenario in which he would send Russian troops to Poland, Putin replied: “Only in one case: if Poland attacks Russia.”
Russia itself has no territorial interests in Poland and Latvia, he assured. Such an attack contradicts common sense because it could bring about a world war and thus the end of humanity.
A few days before the invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin had also categorically ruled out an attack on the neighboring country. No one in Russia is planning a war, and even the possibility of such a war is unacceptable, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said at the time. In fact, Russia has since officially called its war of aggression against Ukraine a “special military operation.”
Criticism of the interview – from Scholz and from Warsaw
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) sharply criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s interview with a right-wing US talk show host. During his visit to the US capital Washington, Scholz said that it was an interview “that honestly only mocks what real actions have been taken by Russia in Ukraine and tells a completely absurd story about the cause of this war.” .
Scholz emphasized: “There is a very clear cause.” This is the Kremlin leader’s desire to annex part of Ukraine. “And all the stories that are told about it do not change the fact that this is exactly the purpose of his imperialist efforts.”
Polish Parliament Speaker Szymon Holownia warns against believing appeasing statements made by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The right-wing US presenter Tucker Carlson proved himself to be – literally – a “useful idiot” for Russian propaganda during his interview with Putin, said Holownia, according to the news channel TVN24. “He held the microphone to a liar, a murderer and an international terrorist.”
Holownia asked whether Putin guarantees that in some time, when he has renewed his military potential, he will not occupy four villages in Latvia? This would allow him to test whether NATO is fulfilling its support article five. “And if she doesn’t fire back, he will occupy another ten kilometers.”
Historical excesses
In the 127-minute conversation, Putin admitted that Moscow had not yet achieved all of its goals, even almost two years after the start of the war. While on previous occasions he had also asserted territorial claims, among other things, on the Ukrainian port city of Odessa on the Black Sea, at Carlson he only spoke of the supposedly necessary “denazification” of Ukraine. Based on the experiences of the Second World War, the argument serves primarily to justify the ongoing fighting in domestic politics.
At the same time, the Kremlin leader appeared ready to negotiate from a position of strength. Russia is ready for dialogue – the time for talks has come because the West must recognize that the conflict cannot be won militarily. “Sooner or later this will end in an agreement,” Putin said.
“Once this realization has set in, they (the West) will have to think about what to do next.” However, this is a well-known Moscow position: Russia does not want to talk about Ukraine with Ukraine, but rather with the West, especially the USA. The Western position so far is that only Ukraine decides when it is ready to negotiate.
Conspiracy theories, false reports and hate speech
Carlson, a television personality known for spreading false reports and conspiracy theories at his former employer Fox News, did not question Putin’s long-winded remarks. He also left unchallenged that Putin once again blamed NATO for his war of aggression, blamed the blowing up of the Nord Stream pipeline on the USA without any evidence and accused the federal government of neglecting German interests in favor of alliance obligations.
The conversation was also comfortable for the Kremlin leader because he was neither confronted about the many victims in Ukraine nor had to comment on repression against the opposition in his own country. Carlson only spoke to the US journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was in custody in Russia, and asked him whether there was a chance of his release.
Putin said he was willing to talk and hinted at the possibility of a prisoner exchange. “It makes no sense to keep him in prison in Russia,” said the Kremlin chief. Rather, the US should think about how it could contribute to a solution.
Putin’s statements immediately afterwards could be interpreted as meaning a release of the Tiergarten murderer Wadim K., who was convicted in December 2021 and sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany. K is said to have committed the murder on behalf of Russian state authorities. Both cases have nothing to do with each other.
Russian media celebrates Putin interview
Political observers had expected the Kremlin to use the interview for propaganda purposes. “Judging by the timing, the main task of the interview is to cover up the scandal surrounding the rejection of Nadezhdin’s registration,” wrote political scientist Abbas Galliamov. Boris Nadezhdin, as a war opponent with an unexpectedly large number of supporters, was excluded from the presidential elections in Russia in March just a few hours before the interview was published.
Galljamov then also criticized Carlson’s uncritical adoption of Putin’s theses. Galliamov scoffed at his long-winded historical statements about how a Ukraine never existed and Russia’s alleged claims to the territory that the British could have cited during the American War of Independence at the end of the 18th century.
Putin at least managed to present himself as an internationally sought-after statesman shortly before the presidential election. Not without pride, Peskov noted that after Carlson’s interview became known, there were dozens of inquiries from Western media “from the USA, France, Italy, Austria, Australia.”
Russian state and Kremlin-affiliated media also celebrated the interview as a success. Many addressed the reach and potential impact of the video clip. This has already been viewed more than 60 million times, state television reported on its website. The Kremlin-affiliated newspaper Izvestia, in turn, counted more than 475,000 likes and quoted a senior official in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine who said that the “information curtain” drawn by the West had failed.