Tucker Carlson Says He Will Soon Interview Putin

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia will “soon” sit for an interview with Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host said on Tuesday, a sign that the Russian leader is seeking to make a direct appeal to American conservatives as U.S. aid to Ukraine hangs in the balance.

“We’re here to interview the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin,” Mr. Carlson said in a video apparently shot from a high-rise in central Moscow and posted to the social network X. “We’ll be doing that soon.”

The Kremlin did not immediately confirm that the interview would take place, and has declined to comment on the possibility when asked by journalists in recent days. Mr. Carlson has been in Moscow for several days, according to Russian state media, which has delivered a blow-by-blow account of his visit, raising anticipation of a potential interview by Mr. Carlson of Mr. Putin.

Mr. Carlson, whose show appears on X, did not specify the timing of any upcoming interview. It would be Mr. Putin’s first formal interview with a Western media figure since the start of his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and his first with an American outlet since he spoke with CNBC in 2021.

Mr. Putin’s government has drastically reduced the ability of Western journalists to cover Russia, and has imprisoned a Wall Street Journal correspondent, Evan Gershkovich, for more than 10 months on espionage charges that he, his employer and the United States government vehemently deny. The Kremlin has referred to Western countries as having been “stupefied” by anti-Russian propaganda.

The interview would come at a critical time for the war in Ukraine, with American aid to Kyiv stalled in Congress. A vote in the Senate on an aid package on Wednesday is almost certain to fail after an increasing number of Republicans said they would not support it.

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