Russian President Vladimir Putin has firmly stated that
Russia will not be defeated in Ukraine. In an interview with former Fox News
host Tucker Carlson that aired on Thursday, Putin also stated that he had no
intention of expanding the war to neighboring countries such as Poland and
Latvia. During the two-hour interview, Putin revealed in detail the history of
Eastern Europe and Russia.
The Russian leader revealed that his government had been in
contact with the United States, and he stated that the only way for peace to be
resolved was if the United States stopped sending weapons to Ukraine.
“I will tell you what we said about this problem and
what we told the US leaders,” Putin said.
“If you really want to stop fighting, you have to stop
supplying weapons. It will be done in a few weeks, that’s all, and then we can
agree on some terms. Before you do that, stop.”
The Kremlin stated that Putin had agreed to the meeting with
Carlson because Carlson provided an impartial viewpoint on the conflict in
Ukraine.
Carlson has repeatedly questioned the reasons for the US
support for Kyiv. In a clip posted on the social media platform this week, he
expressed his criticism of the United States media which strongly favors
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Criticized before the interview, Carlson visited Moscow to
interview the Russian leader. Hillary Clinton, the former Secretary of State,
described journalists as “useful idiots.”
The Kremlin stated that Putin agreed to be interviewed by
Carlson because Carlson had a different approach to many Western media outlets
that reported one-sidedly on the Ukraine conflict.
Carlson is considered to have close ties to Donald Trump,
who is believed to be the Republican candidate in the US presidential election
next November.
Trump has called for a reduction in the intensity of the
conflict in Ukraine, where the Biden administration has strongly supported the
government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and has been dissatisfied
with the large financial aid that has been delivered to date.
On the other hand, Carlson stated that many Western media
reports on the conflict were not objective and tended to favor Kyiv.