Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said that the American press corps will eventually come to terms with the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an interview to independent media host Tucker Carlson. However, the initial reactions of some journalists can be attributed to “professional jealousy”, he said.
Carlson published his two-hour interview with Putin on Thursday, becoming the first American to sit down and talk to the Russian leader since February 2022, when the Ukrainian conflict openly escalated into a conflict. At a press briefing on Friday, Peskov was asked to comment on what has been described as “hysteria” and “panic” in the United States.
Peskov said: “There are some divisions, there are serious institutional divisions along political lines and in the media. The conflicts over determining which party one supports are quite strong. So there is a kind of professional jealousy.” “But over time there will be a deep analysis of this interview… High interest, no doubt.”
Peskov confirmed that the interview was free-flowing and that Carlson did not ask pre-approved questions. He declined to reveal Putin’s impressions of his interviewer.
Carlson has received much criticism for his visit to Moscow, both ideologically and professionally. CNN’s Christiane Amanpour rejected the claim that no American journalist had bothered to ask Putin about Russia’s position on the Ukrainian conflict. The Kremlin had also previously stated that Putin’s office had received several interview requests over the past two years.
Peskov said Carlson’s stance on Russia differed from the “one-sided position” of journalists in the Western mainstream media and contributed to Putin’s decision to grant the interview.
