President Putin wants to reach a solution to the Ukraine conflict through negotiations

The interview between American journalist Tucker Carlson and Russian President Vladimir Putin was posted on Mr. Carlson's personal website on February 8, attracting special attention from the American and Russian public.

Journalist Carlson questioned whether he understood correctly that President Putin wanted to reach a negotiated solution to the conflict in Ukraine.

“Yes,” Russian President Putin replied.

President Putin recalled that Russia had achieved this when, at the peace talks in Istanbul (Türkiye), the head of the Ukrainian delegation, David Arakhamia, signed.

“He signed it. We were ready to sign it, and the war should have ended a long time ago, a year and a half ago. But all the chances were missed by Kiev. We made a mistake, that's all. But why should we make a fuss and correct other people's mistakes?" - President Putin told Carlson.

Explaining the decision to end the conflict in Donbass with the help of a special operation, President Putin reiterated his promise not to expand the NATO alliance, referring to the alliance's military bases as well as the US and British military bases that began to appear on the territory of Ukraine, as well as the coup in Kiev in 2014.

"This ball can be rolled back and forth endlessly. But they stopped negotiating. Was that a mistake?! Well, now correct it. We are ready," President Putin said.

Mr Putin referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's refusal to negotiate with the Kremlin. "We have never refused to negotiate," the Russian president said. "You should urge the current Ukrainian leadership to stop and sit down at the negotiating table."

The Kremlin "boss" sent a message to the US leadership that "if you really want to stop the conflict, you need to stop supplying weapons. The fighting will end in a few weeks".

The interview marks the first time Western media have had private access to Putin since 2019. Carlson is close to former President Donald Trump, the front-runner in the Republican primary race.

During the conversation, which lasted more than two hours, the Russian leader explained his vision of the nature of the conflict in Ukraine and assessed the prospects for its resolution. The topics of NATO's expansion to the east, the use of the dollar as a geopolitical tool and the investigation of terrorist attacks on Nord Stream were also touched upon.