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Photo: Vyacheslav Prokofyev / ITAR-TASS / IMAGO

For the first time since the start of the Ukraine war, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to a Western journalist. As the world waits for ex-Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson's interview to be released, the Kremlin has spoken out.

According to Interfax, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained that Carlson has a position that differs from the rest of the Western media: "He is by no means pro-Russian or pro-Ukrainian, but rather pro-American, but at least he differs from the position of the traditional Anglo-Saxon media. «

The presidential spokesman was also asked to comment on Carlson's comments that not a single Western journalist had bothered to interview Putin recently. Asked whether it was true that the Kremlin had not received a single request from Western media for a meeting with the Russian leader in the last two years, Peskov contradicted Carlson's statements.

“No, Mr. Carlson is wrong. In fact, he cannot know that. We receive a lot of requests for interviews with the president, but when it comes to the countries of the West, they are mostly from large online media: traditional television channels, large newspapers, which cannot at all boast of at least reporting impartially on the events« said Peskov.

Kremlin sees little benefit in communicating with Western media

According to the presidential spokesman, “these are all media outlets that take a one-sided stance.” "Of course there is no desire to communicate with such media and there is hardly any point in it, hardly any benefit from it," Peskov added.

On Monday, the former Fox News host announced the interview with Putin in a four-minute video message. In it he accused the Anglo-Saxon media of corruption and propaganda. He also claimed that no Western journalist apart from him had sought an interview with the Russian president. However, he failed to mention that the Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and the US reporter Evan Gershkovich have been imprisoned in Russia for months for alleged espionage.

Carlson was fired from Fox News last year, with no reasons given for the firing. He hosted a high-ratings evening show there for years. In it he spread conspiracy stories and false reports and agitated against minorities. Shortly thereafter, he started his own show on X (formerly Twitter). It is not yet known when the conversation with Putin will be published.

asc/Reuters