In a two-hour interview, President Vladimir Putin of Russia was more direct than usual about how he sees his Ukraine invasion ending: not with a military victory, but a deal with the West.

 

 

Russia’s President Vladimir V. Putin has spent decades trying to gain friends in the West. He has sent diplomats to establish connections with politicians who support the Kremlin and used his espionage services to rig elections.

A new, lengthy chapter in those attempts was unveiled to the world on Thursday: Mr. Putin’s two-hour interview, recorded in a gilded auditorium at the Kremlin, with one of the most well-known and contentious conservative commentators in the United States.

In an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Mr. Putin urged the US to “make an agreement” to hand over Ukrainian territory to Russia in order to put an end to the conflict.

He attempted to directly appeal to American conservatives at a time when Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill are stalling aid to Ukraine, repeating the talking points of politicians such as former President Donald J. Trump who assert that domestic issues take precedence over a conflict thousands of miles away.

“Is there anything better you could be doing?” Mr. Putin stated in answer to Mr. Carlson’s inquiry concerning the likelihood of US troops engaging in combat in Ukraine. “You have problems with migration, the border, and the national debt.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to negotiate with Russia?” he continued.

 

Much of the interview constituted a familiar Kremlin history lesson about Russia’s historical claim to Eastern European lands, beginning in the ninth century, that Mr. Putin made little effort to distill for American ears. He opined on artificial intelligence, Genghis Khan and the Roman Empire. He also laid out his well-worn and spurious justifications for invading Ukraine, asserting that Russia’s goal was to “stop this war” that he claims the West is waging against Russia.

However, Mr. Putin was more forthright than usual about how he saw the end of his invasion of Ukraine: not with a military triumph but rather with a deal with the West. At the conclusion of the interview, Mr. Putin informed Mr. Carlson that since “those who are in power in the West have come to realize” that Russia will not be beaten on the battlefield, the moment has come for discussions about ending the war.

In that case, they must decide what to do next if the realization has dawned. We’re prepared for this conversation,” Mr. Putin declared.

In response to Mr. Carlson’s inquiry regarding NATO’s ability to recognize Russian authority over certain regions of Ukraine, Mr. Putin stated, “Let them think how to do it with dignity.” If there is a will, options exist.

The dubbed translation of Mr. Carlson’s program was the only version available to viewers as the original Russian version of Mr. Putin’s remarks was not made available right away.

Tuesday’s interview marked Mr. Putin’s first with a Western media organization since the commencement of his all-out campaign in Ukraine, as well as his first with an American one since 2021. Although Mr. Putin frequently spoke with mainstream American media during his first 20 years in office, his spokesperson claimed the Kremlin selected Mr. Carlson this time around because those conventional channels had a “one-sided position” that is “exclusively biased” against Russia.

 

Rather of using some of the venomous words he has used in front of domestic audiences, Mr. Putin extended an olive branch to the West. The Russian president shown unusual restraint when Mr. Carlson gave him an opportunity to elaborate on his attempts to present Russia as a protector of “traditional values” against what he frequently portrays as a decaying and degenerate West. He claimed that “Western society is more pragmatic.” “Mortal values and the eternal are more important to Russians.”

“There’s nothing wrong with” the Western route, he continued, pointing out that it had produced “good success in production, even in science.” It echoed Mr. Putin’s claims made throughout the previous two years that his fight is not with the West in general.

The interview was finally made public on Thursday after many anxious days in Russia’s state-run news media, which had followed Mr. Carlson around Moscow at all times, even down to the double cheeseburgers he was rumored to have ordered at a former McDonald’s. The commotion exposed the Kremlin’s ongoing desire to win over Western viewers, even in the face of Mr. Putin’s intermittent threats to deploy nuclear weapons and Russia’s capture of American journalist Evan Gershkovich last year.

In the interview, Mr. Putin spoke about both of those issues, seemingly attempting to convey that Washington and Moscow can work together to establish a middle path. He informed Mr. Carlson that, in contrast to certain Western officials’ concerns, Russia has no interest in striking nations on NATO’s eastern border.

Mr. Putin declared, “We have no interest in Poland, Latvia, or anywhere else.” “It is merely inciting fear.”

Carlson put pressure on Putin to free Wall Street Journal writer Sergei Gershkovich, who was detained by Russia last year on charges of espionage that both the Journal and the US government categorically refute. Insinuating that the Kremlin was waiting for a good offer from the US to free him as part of a prisoner swap, Mr. Putin stated that “the dialogue continues” regarding his fate.

When considered collectively, Mr. Putin’s visit highlighted his tactical assurance at a time when his enemies are at a loss: the military of Ukraine is in disarray, more military assistance is at a standstill in the US Congress, and pro-Kremlin politicians are gaining ground on both sides of the Atlantic. The most prominent of those politicians is Mr. Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, whom Mr. Carlson regularly compliments but who he did not question during the conversation.

Given these circumstances, Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior scholar at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, believes that Mr. Putin is in the midst of his “finest hour” when he speaks with Mr. Carlson.

According to Ms. Stanovaya, Mr. Putin’s present objectives seem to be securing a peace agreement in Ukraine that would solidify Russia’s grip over the land it has already taken and putting in place a sympathetic government in the country’s capital, Kyiv. But rather than continuing to fight Russia’s invasion, Mr. Putin seems to think that in order to do it, the US must exert pressure on Ukraine to hold talks on resolving the conflict.

She stated, “He thinks he has a window of opportunity right now.”

In fact, Mr. Putin stated repeatedly in the interview—which was initially published on Mr. Carlson’s website and then broadcast on X—that diplomacy would resolve the conflict, but that the United States must first cease providing military support.

Mr. Putin remarked, “You should tell the current Ukrainian leadership to stop and come to a negotiation table.” “This endless mobilization in Ukraine, the hysteria, the domestic problems — sooner or later, it will result in an agreement,” he said a few minutes later.

However, it was far from certain that viewers in America would get the message. Rather, a lot of people were astounded by how long Mr. Putin spent discussing Russian history at the start of the conversation; these were opinions that many had heard the president express in speeches and writings over the years. In an attempt to support his claims to territory in Ukraine, Mr. Putin talked extensively about subjects such as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the introduction of Christianity in Eastern Europe.

As the great-granddaughter of Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev, Nina L. Khrushcheva, a professor of international affairs at the New School in New York, put it, “He didn’t say anything new.” She continued, saying that while Americans “must be going nuts with all this historical verbosity,” Russians are accustomed to his history teachings.