The president, who gave a long history lecture, says that he would have liked tougher questions.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has expressed that he is not completely satisfied with the US reporter by Tucker Carlson for an interview last week.
Carlson, a conservative former Fox News star, interviewed Putin in Moscow last week. The two-hour interview became global news and has collected more than 200 million views on the messaging service X.
Putin said in a TV interview published on Wednesday by a Russian presenter To Pavel Zarubin, that he would have liked a more aggressive style from Carlson. Carlson has also received criticism in the West for not challenging Putin sufficiently but instead giving him the opportunity to repeat his views without criticism.
“To be honest, I thought he would be aggressive and ask so-called tough questions. I was not only prepared for it, I wanted it because it would have given me the opportunity to respond in kind,” Putin said, according to Reuters.
In the interview, Carlson asked Putin the reasons for Russia's attack on Ukraine. Putin responded to this by giving a half-hour lecture on the history of Russia and Ukraine, with which the president tried to justify Ukraine's inclusion in Russia's circle of interests. Feeling bored at times, Carlson was unable to interrupt Putin's monologue.
Putin told Zarubin he was surprised Carlson didn't interrupt him more. On the other hand, he praised Carlson for his “patience.”
“Frankly speaking, I was not completely satisfied with this interview.”
Kremlin said that Putin agreed to be interviewed by Carlson because his approach differs from the “one-sided” coverage of the war in Ukraine by most Western media. In his political commentary, Carlson has often been sympathetic to Russia and questioned US support for Ukraine.
Putin also thanked Carlson for the interview and for acting as a “mediator” between Russia and the West.
“Since we are not able to have a direct dialogue (with the West) at the moment… we must be grateful that Carlson is able to act as a mediator here,” Putin said, according to news agency AFP.
Putin also stated that his comments to Carlson have been distorted in the Western media.
Carlson is the first American journalist to interview Putin after Russia invaded Ukraine.
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