The Kremlin has expressed concern that American journalist Tucker Carlson, who conducted an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin, might face persecution from the collective West.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov shared these concerns during an episode of the program "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin," excerpts of which were published on Telegram by the show's host, Pavel Zarubin.
"The collective West is becoming more and more unpredictable; it truly stoops to anything. Therefore, of course, there were certain fears before the start of the interview that there would be some persecution against this poor Carlson. As far as I understand, he is having a tough time now," Peskov stated.
According to the Kremlin representative, the journalist likely "anticipated the intensity of passions" that would follow the interview. However, Peskov believes the interview has added to Carlson's popularity.
In the same conversation, Peskov revealed details about the organization of the interview. He stated that Carlson himself reached out to the Kremlin and proposed the meeting. After reviewing his recent work, the Kremlin recommended that Putin agree to the interview.
Putin's interview with Carlson was released on the journalist's website and his social media account on X on the night of February 9th. It was published on the Kremlin's website the next morning.
In the first 24 hours, Carlson's publication of the interview on X garnered over one hundred million views.
