President Vladimir Putin told the West that it is “impossible“a defeat of Russia in Ukrainein a long interview with the American conservative journalist Tucker Carlsonbroadcast this Thursday.
Carlson, close to the candidate for White House and former Republican president donald trumpasked few tough questions and listened to Putin’s views on Russian history, portraying the country as a victim of Western betrayals.
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The Russian president defended his decision to invade Ukraine in February 2022 and said that the West now realizes that Russia will not be defeated, despite the help of USA, Europe and the NATO to kyiv.
“There has been uproar and shouting about inflicting strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield but now they are apparently realizing that it is difficult to achieve, if at all possible. In my opinion, it is impossible by definition“, he claimed. “It will never happen”.
He also took the opportunity to convey a message to United States Congresswhere Republicans, under the influence of Trump, are increasingly reluctant to continue supporting Ukraine with weapons and military aid.
“I’ll tell you what we’re saying on this issue and what we’re conveying to American leaders. If they really want to stop fighting, they must stop supplying weapons“, said.
Asked if Moscow would consider invading other countries in the region such as Poland and Latviawho are members of NATO, or in general throughout the European continent, Putin responded that “I had no interest”.
“Can you imagine a scenario where you send Russian troops to Poland?Carlson asked him. “Only in one case, if Poland attacks Russia”Putin responded. And he added: “We have no interest in Poland, Latvia or anywhere else. Why would we do it? We simply have no interest”.
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He also ruled out that the relationships between Washington and Moscow will change with the election of a new American president on November 5, probably in a duel between the Democrat Joe Biden and Trump.
“Did you just ask me if another leader comes and changes something? It’s not about the leader. It’s not about a particular person’s personality.”, he answered in the interview, recorded on Tuesday.
“No taboo”
Carlson did not ask Putin questions about his relationship with Trump.
When he was president and since he was defeated by Biden in the 2020 presidential election, Trump has repeatedly praised Putin.
The Republican magnate has not condemned the invasion of Ukraine and affirms in his rallies that if he were re-elected he could resolve the war in “24 hours”, although without saying how.
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On the contrary, Biden has described Putin as “war criminal” and made support for the Ukrainian government one of the priorities of his presidency.
In the more than two-hour interview with the former Fox News host, Putin also estimated that “an agreement can be reached” about the American journalist Evan Gershkovichdetained for almost a year.
“There is no taboo to resolve this matter. We are ready to solve it, but there are certain terms that are being discussed through the channels of special services. I think an agreement can be reached”he declared.
