Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin quickly agreed to speak with American journalist Tucker Carlson.
The Kremlin representative noted that the initiative to organize the interview came from the American journalist himself.
“In fact, Carlson came to us himself and proposed conducting this interview. We actively looked at his materials, looked at his audience, and looked at how balanced he was in covering some issues. We concluded by recommending that the Head of State conduct this interview,” Peskov said in a television interview.
Peskov stressed that the West has become more and more predictable, so the Kremlin had concerns that even before the start of the interview with the Russian president, journalist Carlson could be harassed and persecuted.
“Given that this collective West has become more and more predictable, and it has turned out that it really does not hesitate to use various means to achieve its goals, there were certain concerns that even before the start of the interview there would be some kind of persecution of this poor Carlson, and that did indeed happen,” he said.
The Kremlin representative believes that American journalist Carlson expected the interview to provoke strong and different reactions, but all this added to the popularity of the journalist himself.
“I think Carlson is having a tough time right now. On the other hand, being a very smart person, I think he expected that there would be such a strong reaction. But to be fair, I must say that this interview also added a lot of popularity to him,” Peskov said.
The interview between Putin and Carlson has been met with mixed reactions. Some have praised Carlson for his willingness to challenge Putin, while others have criticized him for providing a platform for the Russian leader.