Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday he was grateful to American presenter Tucker Carlson for his widely watched interview and his role as “intermediary” with the West.
“Since we are not able to have a direct dialogue today […] we should be grateful to Mr. Carlson for being able to do this through him,” Mr. Putin said, interviewed by a journalist and in remarks released by the Kremlin.
Mr. Putin, however, said he was “not fully satisfied” by this long interview, the first he has given to a Western journalist since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, broadcast this week and watched by more than 200 million viewers. times on
The Russian president said he expected “aggressive” behavior and “difficult questions” from the former star Fox News host. “I was not only prepared for this, but I wanted it, because it would give me the opportunity to respond in the same way,” Mr. Putin said.
However, Mr. Carlson “tried to interrupt me several times, but in a surprising way,” continued the Russian president, who nevertheless praised the “patience” of the conservative American journalist, who notably listened to a long lesson in very subjective story of Vladimir Putin during this interview.
“But he went hard, in his own way. According to his plan,” said Mr. Putin, who also complained that his remarks were then “distorted” in the West.
In this message lasting more than two hours to the Americans and Europeans, Mr. Putin notably assured that a defeat for Russia in Ukraine was “impossible” while saying he was ready for a “dialogue” with the West.
To watch on video