Tucker Carlson interview with Putin to be released Thursday

(The Hill) — Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson said on Tuesday he had secured an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin that he plans to publish in the near future.

The sit-down will mark the first time a member of the Western media will interview the Russian president since his country’s invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war between the two countries that has resulted. The Kremlin confirmed the interview had happened on Wednesday.

“We are not encouraging you to agree with what Putin may say in this interview,” Carlson said in a video posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “But we are urging you to watch it. You should know as much as you can. And then, like a free citizen and not a slave, you can decide for yourself.”

The interview will be posted Thursday, according to Justin Wells, head of programming at Carlson’s streaming network. It’s not known what was said in the interview.

Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters that Carlson was chosen for the interview because “he has a position which differs” from other English-language media.

During his four-minute announcement, Carlson blasted the American media and U.S. government for what he described as blind support for Ukraine in its war effort.

Carlson has for years been critical of U.S. involvement in the conflict, the Ukrainian government and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, with whom he said he has also requested an interview.  

Speaking from what appeared to be an elevated balcony in Moscow, Carlson acknowledged what he called “risks to conducting an interview like this,” and noted he and his crew paid for the trip to Moscow themselves and did not take any financial assistance from government groups to travel.

A former pundit at Fox News, Carlson was pulled off the air by the network last spring and has since launched his own media company and new program on X.

He said Elon Musk, who owns the social media platform, has promised not to “censor” or suppress the interview with Putin in any way, which Carlson said will not be placed behind a paywall.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.