Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he was grateful to American host Tucker Carlson for his widely watched interview and his role as a “mediator” with the West.
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“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 when questioned by a journalist and in comments he published Kremlin.
However, Mr Putin said he was “not entirely satisfied” with this lengthy interview, the first he has given to a Western journalist since the start of Russia's offensive in Ukraine, which was broadcast this week and seen by more than 200 million viewers. Let's move on
The Russian president said he expects “aggressive” behavior and “difficult questions” from the former Fox News star host. “Not only was I prepared for it, but I wanted it because it would give me the opportunity to respond in the same way,” 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, in particular, listened to a long lesson in a very subjective story about Vladimir Putin during this interview.
“But he worked hard in his own way. According to his plan,” said Putin, who also complained that his statements were then “distorted” in the West.
In this more than two-hour message to Americans and Europeans, Mr. Putin particularly asserted that Russia's defeat in Ukraine was “impossible” and said he was ready for a “dialogue” with the West.