Tucker Carlson Vladimir Putin interview: What did Vladimir Putin say in Moscow interview with former Fox News host? Does Tucker Carlson speak Russian?

The interview between former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson and Russian president Vladimir Putin had been highly trailed in the build-up – and was broadcast directly to X

An interview between former US news anchor Tucker Carlson and Russian president Vladimir Putin carried out in Moscow has aired overnight.

The highly-anticipated interview had been extensively trailed, and was posted on Mr Carlson's website and X, rather than being broadcast through mainstream media.

It is the first time the Russian leader has agreed to an interview with a Western media outlet since he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost two years ago.

In this photo released by Sputnik news agency, Russian president Vladimir Putin (right) and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson prepare for an interview at the Kremlin in Moscow. Picture: Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

The interview involving Mr Carlson, the 54-year-old former Fox News host and media personality, had been filmed on Tuesday – but just what did Mr Putin have to say on key topics, including his view of Western countries?

What did Vladimir Putin have to say about the US and the West?

The Russian president urged Washington to recognise Moscow’s interests and persuade Ukraine to sit down for talks.

Mr Putin also said Russia stands ready to negotiate a potential prisoner exchange that would free Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was detained in March last year on espionage charges he denies, and hinted that Moscow wants the release of an agent imprisoned in Germany.

Russian president Vladimir Putin gestures as he speaks during an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson at the Kremlin in Moscow. Picture: Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

The Russian leader also warned the West would never succeed in inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia in Ukraine and rejected allegations that Russia was harbouring plans to attack Poland or other Nato countries.

What did the Russian president say about Ukraine?

Most of the interview, which was released on Thursday, focused on Ukraine where the war is nearing the two-year mark.

Mr Putin repeated his claim that his invasion of Ukraine, which Kyiv and its allies described as an unprovoked act of aggression, was necessary to protect Russian speakers in Ukraine and prevent the country from posing a threat to Russia by joining Nato.

He pointed at Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s refusal to conduct talks with the Kremlin and argued it is up to Washington to stop supplying Ukraine with weapons and convince Kyiv, which he called a US “satellite”, to sit down for negotiations.

“We have never refused negotiations,” Mr Putin said. “You should tell the current Ukrainian leadership to stop and come to a negotiating table.”

How did the US respond to the Tucker Carlson interview?

White House national security spokesman John Kirby tried to minimise the impact of the interview ahead of its release, saying: “Remember, you’re listening to Vladimir Putin. And you shouldn’t take at face value anything he has to say.”

Mr Putin has heavily limited his contact with international media since he launched the war in Ukraine in February 2022.

Russian authorities have cracked down on independent media, forcing some Russian outlets to close, blocking others and ordering a number of foreign reporters to leave the country.

What did Vladimir Putin say about US journalists in prison?

Two journalists working for US news organisations — The Wall Street Journal’s Mr Gershkovich and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Alsu Kurmasheva — are in jail.

Asked by Mr Carlson whether Russia would release Mr Gershkovich, Mr Putin said Moscow was open to talks, but repeated the reporter was charged with espionage, an accusation Mr Gershkovich has denied.

“He was caught red-handed when he was secretly getting classified information,” Mr Putin said, adding that he does not rule out the reporter returning home.

“There is no taboo on settling this issue. We are ready to solve it, but there are certain conditions that are being discussed between special services. I believe an agreement can be reached.”

He pointed to a man imprisoned in a “US-allied country” for “liquidating a bandit” who killed Russian soldiers during the fighting in the Caucasus.

“He put our soldiers taken prisoners on a road and then drove a car over their heads,” he said. “There was a patriot who liquidated him in one of the European capitals.”

Mr Putin did not mention names, but he appeared to refer to Vadim Krasikov, a Russian serving a life sentence in Germany after being convicted of the 2019 brazen daylight killing of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen of Chechen ethnicity.

German judges who convicted Krasikov said he had acted on the orders of Russian federal authorities, who provided him with a false identity, a fake passport and the resources to carry out the hit.

The Wall Street Journal reaffirmed in a statement that Mr Gershkovich “is a journalist, and journalism is not a crime,” adding that “any portrayal to the contrary is total fiction”.

“We’re encouraged to see Russia’s desire for a deal that brings Evan home, and we hope this will lead to his rapid release and return to his family and our newsroom,” it said.

Who is Tucker Carlson?

Mr Carlson was born in San Francisco, California, and is the son of an artist and a roving journalist.

He first became known in media circles in the 1990s, writing for several prominent publications, including New York Magazine, Esquire and The New Republic.

But Mr Carlson rise to prominence was linked to his work at Fox News for more than a decade where he hosted a show where he discussed conspiracy theories about Russia and the January 6 insurrection.

An advocate of former US president Donald Trump, Mr Carlton hosted the nightly political talk show Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News from 2016 to 2023.

But his contract with Fox News was controversially terminated in April last year, prompting Mr Carlson to announce he was starting his own streaming service in December.

Outside of speaking to Mr Putin, Mr Carlson has also used the streaming service to interview Andrew Tate, the British-American influencer accused in Romania of rape, human trafficking and forming an organised crime group to sexually exploit women.

Does Tucker Carlson speak Russian? How did he conduct the interview?

Mr Carlson’s interview with the Russian leader lasted more than two hours. In it, Mr Putin dominated the conversation, making jokes at times and giving an extended 30-minute lecture to open the interview on Russian and Ukraine history, the break-up of the Soviet Union and Nato expansionism.

Mr Carlson asked all of his questions in English throughout the interview, with Mr Putin using an earpiece and an interpreter, and responding in Russian throughout.