President Vladimir Putin of Russia granted an exclusive interview to U.S. television host Tucker Carlson on Tuesday, as confirmed by the Kremlin.

This marks Putin’s first interview with an American journalist since before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Putin agreed to the interview with Carlson due to the host’s perceived departure from the “one-sided” reporting on the Ukraine conflict prevalent in many Western news outlets.

“In terms of coverage, the large network media, TV channels, and newspapers of the collective West cannot be said to even attempt impartiality,” Peskov remarked during a regular news briefing on Wednesday.

“Pro-American”

Peskov highlighted Carlson’s approach as distinctively “pro-American” rather than specifically pro-Russian or pro-Ukrainian, offering a reason behind Putin’s decision to engage with the journalist.

The interview is anticipated to be broadcast on Thursday, as reported by Russia’s TASS news agency, citing sources from the Wall Street Journal.

Putin, who ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, last participated in a formal interview with a U.S. media outlet in October 2021, with CNBC’s Hadley Gamble. Since then, he has primarily communicated with media from Russia, China, and Kazakhstan.

Touch media

The departure of numerous Western media organisations from Moscow, coupled with stringent media laws enacted following the conflict, has limited international coverage from within Russia.

In March 2023, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, an American citizen, was detained on spying charges.

In anticipation of the interview, Carlson emphasised its significance for American audiences to comprehend Russia’s perspective on the war in Ukraine.

He clarified that the interview did not imply an endorsement of Putin’s viewpoints but aimed to provide viewers with comprehensive information.

Unprovoked act

While Putin maintains that the deployment of troops into Ukraine is essential for Russia’s national security, Kyiv and its Western allies denounce it as an unprovoked act of aggression and territorial expansionism.

Carlson, who has criticised Western media coverage favoring Kyiv’s narrative, disclosed that he had also requested an interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.