Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Moscow has no interest in expanding its war in Ukraine to other countries in the region or NATO members like Poland and Latvia or European countries, adding that the West is beginning to realize Russia’s invincibility in Ukraine.
In an interview with American anchor Tucker Carlson in Moscow that aired on Thursday, Putin affirmed that Russia only seeks its own interests and will not attack a country when it has no interest in doing so.
Responding to a question about whether he could envision a scenario where Russian forces would be sent to Poland, Putin answered that it could only happen if Poland attacked Russia.
He noted that there have been voices recently calling for a strategic defeat of Russia on the battlefield, indicating that those voices now understand that achieving this goal is impossible.
Relations with Washington
Moreover, the Russian President emphasized that the election of a new American president, scheduled for November 5th, likely between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, will not change the relations between the United States and Russia.
Addressing a question on the possibility of a new US president altering US-Russian relations, Putin stated that it is not about who the leader is since the relations between the two countries are not tied to a specific individual.
Putin declared that Russia is open to reaching an agreement for the release of American journalist Ivan Gherchkovitch, who has been detained in Russia for nearly a year on espionage charges.
Ending the War
Putin added that if the US administration truly wanted to end the war in Ukraine, it must cease sending weapons to Kyiv.
He indicated that Russia and Ukraine will reach an agreement sooner or later, highlighting that the path of negotiations remains open.
He mentioned that the war could have been stopped if the agreed-upon decisions in the peace talks held in Istanbul between Ukraine and Russia through Turkey were carried out, but Kyiv backed off from it based on instructions from the West, especially Washington.
NATO Expansion
Putin also expressed Moscow’s concern over NATO’s expansionist policies since the 1990s.
He stated that NATO does not need expansion, explaining that the alliance’s enlargement means a situation similar to the Cold War but closer to Russia’s borders.
Putin affirmed that the United States did not fulfill its promise not to expand NATO eastward.
The Kremlin mentioned that Putin agreed to the interview with Carlson -the first with a Western media outlet since the start of the war on Ukraine in February 2022- because Carlson’s approach differs from the one-sided coverage of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict followed by many Western media outlets.
Carlson has a close relationship with former US President Donald Trump, who calls for de-escalating the war in Ukraine.
Washington’s Response
The White House commented on Putin’s interview stating that it was not necessary for the American people to realize the “brutality” of the Russian President.
The spokesperson for the US National Security Council, John Kirby, stated that Putin is trying to justify his actions in Ukraine with “false and silly” reasons, emphasizing that the reality of what he is doing in Ukraine should be clear to everyone.
Carlson mentioned that he conducted the interview because the American people have no idea about what is happening in Russia and Ukraine and should know because they are bearing a large part of the costs of the war, referring to the support provided by the United States to Ukraine, which he constantly criticizes.
