How to watch Tucker Carlson’s interview with Putin

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin – with the sit-down set to be released later today.

Mr Putin has heavily limited his contact with international media since he launched the war in Ukraine in February 2022.

For years, Mr Carlson has expressed an affinity with the Russian leader. In 2022, after the Russian leader launched his unprovoked invasion, Mr Carlson wondered aloud why he should oppose the attempt to annex parts of Ukraine.

Russian authorities have cracked down on media, forcing some independent Russian outlets to close, blocking others and ordering a number of foreign reporters to leave the country.

Two journalists working for US news organisations — The Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Alsu Kurmasheva — are being held in Russian jail on charges related to their reporting. Both say they were just doing their jobs.

Where can you watch it?

The interview will be broadcast on Mr Carlson’s website at 6pm ET (11pm GMT) and also on X, formerly known as Twitter.

What are we expecting?

Mr Carlson has given very little away about what to expect when the interview airs.

In a video posted on X justifying the interview, he said: “Here’s why we’re doing it. First, because it’s our job.

“We’re in journalism. Our duty is to inform people, two years into a war that’s reshaping the entire world. Most Americans are not informed.

“They have no real idea what’s happening in this region, here in Russia or 600 miles away in Ukraine. But they should know. They’re paying for much of it in ways they might not fully yet perceive.”

He claimed that western coverage of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by the US media has been “fawning pep sessions specifically designed to amplify Zelensky’s demand that the US enter more deeply into a war in Eastern Europe, and pay for it”.

What has the Kremlin said?

Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters that Mr Carlson was chosen for the interview because “he has a position which differs” from other English-language media.

Before his exit from Fox News, Carlson repeatedly questioned the validity of US support for Ukraine following the Russian invasion. His comments have frequently circulated on Russian state-run media.

Mr Peskov also rejected Mr Carlson‘s suggestion that no Western journalists had submitted requests to interview Mr Putin.

He said the Kremlin has received many requests from large Western television channels and newspapers which, he asserted, “take a one-sided position”. Mr Carlson‘s position “is in no way pro-Russian, nor pro-Ukrainian, but rather pro-American,” Mr Peskov said.