A spokesperson for the Russian government clarified that it has rejected requests to interview Vladimir Putin from reputable media outlets
The Kremlinās first public response to Tucker Carlsonās announcement that heās landed an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin was to fact-check the former Fox News host.
On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Carlson had indeed interviewed Putin, but took issue with Carlsonās claim that ānot a single Western journalist has botheredā to interview Russiaās president throughout the nationās war with Ukraine, which has raged for more than two years.
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Putinās refusal to sit down with most Western media outlets likely has less to do with accusations of bias so much as an unwillingness to be subjected to legitimate scrutiny of his government. Russia has been accused of committing atrocities and war crimes in its offensive against Ukraine, including the unlawful executions of civilians. Putinās government is also infamous for its frequent detainment of political rivals and critics, as well as the cloud of mysterious deaths and poisonings of those in his orbit.
Whether Carlson will question Putin on any of these matters remains to be seen. The former Fox News hostās history of granting softball interviews to controversial influencers, political figures, and authoritarian leaders, indicates this is unlikely. Given everything we know about Putinās propaganda machine, itās clear that in Carlson, the Russian government sees a safe opportunity to broadcast its carefully crafted messaging to American viewers.
I hope that Tucker asks all of the important questions that Putin has avoided until now and then promptly disappears to āplay golfā in Siberia for the next couple of decades.
The language of the article suggests the interview already happened but is not yet released. Could be a mistake, but Iām guessing they need to edit it, show the Kremlin for approval/final edit, then release.