Tucker Carlson Releases 2-Hour Interview With Vladimir Putin

Tucker Carlson aired his interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday.

The interview ― Putin’s first formal sit-down with a Western media figure since he began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine ― stretched more than two hours. Putin spent the first 30 minutes explaining the history of Russia and Ukraine at the end of World War II before calling American efforts to further fund Ukrainian defense a “cheap provocation” by the United States.

Putin said he remained open to negotiations with Ukraine to end the conflict but claimed the U.S. was using the country as a proxy and stymying efforts to find a resolution.

“We’re willing to negotiate,” the Russian president said. “It is the Western side, and Ukraine is obviously a satellite state of the U.S. It is evident.”

Putin also suggested, without evidence, that the CIA was responsible for the destruction of the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines in 2022. The pipelines linked Russia to Western Europe, and their sabotage launched a confounding investigation into who was responsible for the explosions.

Investigators have so far been unable to identify a responsible party.

“You personally may have an alibi, but the CIA has no such alibi,” Putin told Carlson in the interview after being asked who blew up the pipelines. “I won’t get into details, but people always say in such cases look for someone who is interested.”

Carlson announced the interview earlier this week amid days of speculation that he had traveled to Moscow. The former Fox News host claimed that “not a single Western journalist” had bothered to speak with Putin but that he was doing so because “Americans have a right to know all they can about a war they’re implicated in.”

The interview immediately sparked