For the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago, Vladimir Putin agreed to an interview with a Western journalist, offering a rare window into the mindset of a reclusive pariah.
The occasion provoked a furore of both interest and criticism, largely focused on the controversial choice of ex-Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson as interviewer.
But from the "two-hour, hotly anticipated interview", filmed in Moscow and published on "the far-right commentator's website" on Thursday, "nuggets of Putin-think emerged", said Politico.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What did the commentators say?
Putin "agreed to this chat from a position of relative strength", said the BBC's Eastern Europe correspondent Sarah Rainsford. Ukraine's counteroffensive has "stalled", Kyiv's Western allies have been "dithering over continued military aid, especially the US", while the Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has sacked his popular commander-in-chief of the armed forces. "The situation is precarious."
That could explain why Putin – who "lectured, joked and occasionally snarled" – was "fully in charge of this encounter". Carlson "barely got a word in", Rainsford said.
Putin delivered a 30-minute "romp" through "counterfactual history", said The Daily Telegraph's deputy US editor, Rozina Sabur, before offering his thoughts on "the future of mankind".
He stressed the need for "an international agreement" on regulations to address the threat "from unbridled and uncontrolled development of AI or genetics". Putin "clearly feels one man is making leaps and bounds" towards the creation of a specialised superhuman, said Sabur: Elon Musk.
Putin also "repeated claims that Boris Johnson sabotaged a peace deal with Ukraine" in 2022, which the former UK prime minister has denied as "total nonsense".
"Prime Minister Johnson came to talk us out of it and we missed that chance," said Putin. "Well, you missed it." The Russian leader blamed Johnson's "arrogance": he acted "because of a pure heart", said Putin, "but not because of a great mind".
Carlson also asked Putin about the attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea in 2022, "prompting a curious exchange" between the two, said Politico.
"Who blew up Nord Stream?" Carlson asked. Putin responded: "You for sure." When Carlson said he was "busy that day", Putin "jokingly parried back that while Carlson personally had an alibi for the day of the bombings, the CIA had none". Putin presented no evidence for the accusation, which the US has repeatedly denied.
Putin warned that Russian defeat in Ukraine was "impossible by definition", but he "insisted he does not seek to expand the war to neighbouring countries such as Poland and Lativa", said Al Jazeera.
He denied that he had "territorial ambitions across Europe, and insisted he would only send troops into neighbouring countries if attacked first".
"It is absolutely out of the question," he said. "You just don't have to be any kind of analyst, it goes against common sense to get involved in some kind of a global war." And global war, he said, "will bring humanity to the brink of devastation".
"It was all classic Putin," said Rainsford, and Carlson "let him roll with it".
What next?
There was "plenty of swagger" from Putin about how Russia is "ready for dialogue" and "willing to negotiate" on Ukraine, said Rainsford.
Putin insisted "relations between the two peoples will be rebuilt". But he added that Moscow had not yet achieved its purported invasion goals, including the "de-Nazification" of Ukraine.
To the West, he said: "If you really want to stop fighting, you need to stop supplying weapons. It will be over within a few weeks. That's it. And then we can agree on some terms. Before you do that, stop."
-
‘A legacy news brand brings a visibility of its own’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
8 of the best ‘cozy crime’ series of all timeThe Week Recommends Murder mysteries don’t necessarily have to make us miserable, and these shows have perfected a feel-good crime formula
-
Youth revolts rattle Morocco as calls against corruption grow louderTHE EXPLAINER Snowballing controversy over World Cup construction and civic services has become a serious threat to Morocco’s political stability
-
US tipped to help Kyiv strike Russian energy sitesSpeed Read Trump has approved providing Ukraine with intelligence for missile strikes on Russian energy infrastructure
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Moldova gives decisive win to pro-EU partySpeed Read The country is now on track to join the European Union within five years
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
Denmark’s record-setting arms purchase raises eyebrows and anxietyIN THE SPOTLIGHT By eschewing American-made munitions for their European counterparts, the Danish government is bracing for Russian antagonism and sending a message to the West
-
What led to Poland invoking NATO’s Article 4 and where could it lead?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION After a Russian drone blitz, Warsaw’s rare move to invoke the important NATO statute has potentially moved Europe closer to continent-wide warfare
-
Poland downs Russian drones in NATO airspaceSpeed Read Polish airspace was “violated by a huge number of Russian drones,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said
-
Russia slams Kyiv, hits government buildingSpeed Read This was Moscow's largest aerial assault since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022
