In an interview with controversial right-wing American journalist Tucker Carlson published on January 9, President Vladimir Putin said the West must understand that it is "impossible" to defeat Russia in Ukraine.
In the two-hour interview with the former Fox News anchor - which appeared just before the two-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine - Putin also said "a deal can be struck" on jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich.
"Certain conditions are being discussed through special services channels," he said, while insisting the reporter was a spy - something the newspaper and the US government vehemently deny.
It was Putin's first one-on-one interview with a Western media person since 2019.
But Carlsson, who is close to White House candidate and former President Donald Trump, asked few questions and largely listened as the Kremlin leader lectured him on his views of Russian history, portraying the country as a victim of Western betrayals.
Putin defended his decision to invade Ukraine in February 2022. He said the West now realises that Russia will not be defeated, despite US, European and NATO help for Ukraine.
"So far, there has been hue and cry about inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield. But now they are apparently beginning to realise that this is difficult, if not impossible. I think it's impossible by definition," he said.
He also sent a message to the US Congress, where Trump-dominated Republicans are increasingly reluctant to continue supporting Ukraine with weapons and other military aid. If you really want to stop the war, you have to stop supplying weapons," he said.Asked whether Moscow would consider invading other countries in the region - NATO members Poland and Latvia - or the entire European continent in general, Putin said that was "out of the question.""We have no interest in Poland, Latvia or anywhere else. Why would we do that? We simply have no interest. This is just threat-mongering," Putin said.
War with Poland, he said, would happen "only in one case: if Poland invades Russia."
Asked about a possible change in leadership after the U.S. election, where Biden is expected to face Trump in a rematch of their 2020 race, Putin indicated he would not see much change.
"You just asked me if another leader will come and change anything? It's not about the leader. It's not about the personality of a particular person," Putin said.
Carlsson rarely fired back in his interview - recorded Tuesday and posted on his own website - and did not challenge Putin about his relationship with Trump.
While he was president and after he was defeated by Biden, Trump repeatedly praised Putin and did not condemn the invasion of Ukraine - he said if re-elected he could solve the war in "24 hours", though he did not say how.
By contrast, Biden branded Putin a "war criminal" and made supporting Ukraine's elected pro-Western government one of the top priorities of his presidency./BGNES
