Right-wing US Commentator Meets Putin, Who Emphasizes "Xi Jinping Is a Friend, War Cannot Be Lost"

Interview with Former Fox News Anchor Mentions US Presidential Election
"If Western Arms Supply to Ukraine Stops, War Will End Within Weeks"

"Former U.S. President George W. Bush and I had a 'good personal relationship,' and I had a similar relationship with former President Donald Trump when he was in the White House."

This was said by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his first interview with Western media since the war with Ukraine began. This is the first time Putin has given an exclusive interview to Western journalists since he invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Photo by AFP/Yonhap News

On the 9th (Korean time), TASS, Sputnik, Bloomberg, and other outlets reported that in an interview released that day with former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, Putin responded to questions about the U.S. presidential election by saying, "The change of the U.S. president alone will not affect America's attitude toward Russia."

Carlson was a popular anchor who hosted the leading program on the American conservative media Fox News, 'Tucker Carlson Tonight,' for the past seven years, and is a far-right journalist who maintained a close friendship with former President Donald Trump.

In the approximately two-hour interview, President Putin said, "The West fears a strong China more than a strong Russia," explaining, "Russia has a population of 150 million, while China has 1.5 billion people. And the Chinese economy is rapidly growing at 5% per year."

He went on to call Chinese President Xi Jinping a "colleague and friend." He said, "Together with President Xi, who is both a colleague and a friend, we set a goal this year to reach $200 billion in trade with China. We have already surpassed that level."

He also said Russia is prepared to negotiate the release of Wall Street Journal (WSJ) journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was detained on espionage charges that Putin denies, through a prisoner exchange with a Russian agent imprisoned in Germany. Gershkovich could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted at the trial scheduled for the end of March.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen interviewing with Tucker Carlson, a former Fox News anchor and pro-Trump far-right commentator from the United States, on the 6th (local time).
[Photo by TASS/Yonhap News]

Most of the interview released that day focused on the Ukraine war, which is approaching its two-year anniversary. President Putin claimed that the invasion of Ukraine, which Ukraine and Western allies have condemned as an unprovoked act of aggression, was necessary to prevent Ukraine from joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which poses a threat to Russia, and to protect pro-Russian figures within Ukraine.

Putin said, "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky refused to hold talks with Russia," adding, "The United States should stop supplying weapons to Ukraine and make Ukraine, which is considered a 'satellite state' of the U.S., come to the negotiating table."

He stated, "Russia has never refused negotiations. The current Ukrainian leadership should now come to the negotiating table."

President Putin also introduced that Russia has demanded the U.S. to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine through diplomatic channels as a precondition for negotiations. He emphasized that it is 'impossible' for Russia to lose in Ukraine.

Additionally, when Carlson asked what he thinks about Elon Musk, the owner of X, who is rumored to have implanted a chip in his brain, Putin replied, "I think Elon Musk cannot be stopped. He will do whatever he wants."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.