Russian President, Vladimir Putin has warned that defeating Russia in Ukraine is “impossible by definition”, but insisted he does not seek to expand the war to neighbouring countries such as Poland and Latvia.
In a high-profile interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Putin repeated his claim that invading Ukraine was necessary to stop the country from threatening Russia by joining NATO. Putin alsk denied that he had territorial ambitions across Europe, and insisted he would only send troops into neighbouring countries like Poland or Lithuania if attacked first.
“It is absolutely out of the question. You just don’t have to be any kind of analyst, it goes against common sense to get involved in some kind of a global war,” Putin said in the interview posted on social media and Carlson’s personal website on Friday morning, February 9.
“And a global war will bring all of humanity to the brink of devastation. It’s obvious.”
During a two-hour interview that saw Putin talk at length about the history of Eastern Europe and Russia, the Russian leader said that his government was in contact with the United States and that a peaceful resolution to the war would only be possible if Washington stopped supplying weapons to Ukraine.
“I will tell you what we are saying on this matter and what we are conveying to the US leadership,” Putin said.
“If you really want to stop fighting, you need to stop supplying weapons. It will be over within a few weeks, that’s it, and then we can agree on some terms. Before you do that, stop.”
Putin said he has “never refused” to negotiate peace with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but Moscow has not yet achieved its goals in Ukraine, including “de-Nazification”, referring to his claim that Kyiv is committing genocide against ethnic Russians.
Carlson, a right wing former Fox News host, has repeatedly questioned the rationale for US support for Kyiv, and in a video posted on social media this week, criticised US media outlets for their “fawning” coverage of Zelenskyy.
After his interview with Putin aired, Carlson said in a video posted on his website that anyone who believed Putin would give up Crimea for peace is a “lunatic” and “they want a weak leadership in Russia”.
Before the interview, Carlson attracted criticism for travelling to Moscow to interview the Russian leader, with former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accusing the former TV host of being a “useful idiot”.
