In a wide-ranging interview with Tucker Carlson, Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized President Joe Biden, former President Bill Clinton and the CIA while making several bombshell claims.
Putin spoke through a translator with the former Fox News host in a two-hour talk that was posted on the Tucker Carlson Network Thursday evening.
The Russian leader defended his actions in Ukraine after delivering an impressive recounting of the history of the region. He then went on to address many of the reports that have circulated as well as delivering his view of events over the years and the multiple administrations he has interacted with in the U.S.
“At a meeting here in the Kremlin with the outgoing President Bill Clinton, right here in the next room, I said to him, I asked him: ‘Bill, do you think if Russia asked to join NATO, do you think it would happen?'”Putin recalled
“Suddenly he said, ‘you know, it’s interesting. I think so.’ But in the evening, when we met for dinner, he said: You know, I’ve talked to my team, no, it’s not possible now,” Putin continued. “You can ask him. I think he will watch our interview, he’ll confirm it. I wouldn’t have said anything like that if it hadn’t happened. Okay, well, it’s impossible now.”
Vladimir Putin on asking former President Bill Clinton about joining NATO:
“I asked the question: Is it possible or not? And the answer I got was no.” pic.twitter.com/hQslYKXDkD
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) February 8, 2024
‘”f he had said yes, the process of rapprochement would have commenced, and eventually it might have happened if we had seen some sincere wish on the side of our partners. But it didn’t happen. Well, no means no, okay, fine,” Putin told Carlson.
He recounted the good relationship he had with former President George W. Bush.
“It is not about the personality of a particular person. I had a very good relationship with say Bush,” he said. “I know that in the United States, he was portrayed as some kind of a country boy who does not understand much. I assure you that this is not the case.”
🚨 INTERESTING: Putin says he had a very good relationship with George Bush. pic.twitter.com/WHVTuPiWHt
— Iyan Velji (@IyanVelji) February 8, 2024
“But in general, on a personal human level, I had a very good relationship with him. He was no worse than any other American or Russian or European politician. I assure you he understood what he was doing as well as others,” Putin added before touting the good relationship with former President Donald Trump.
“It is not about the personality of the leader. It is about the elites’ mindset, leader deal,” he said. “‘If the idea of domination at any cost, based also on forceful actions dominates the American society, nothing will change. It will only get worse.”
“I had such a personal relationship with Trump,” he added.
Putin boasted about Russia’s military power and claimed Russian forces “created hypersonic systems with intercontinental range, and we continue to develop them.”
“We are now ahead of everyone, the United States and the other countries in terms of the development of hypersonic strike systems. And we are improving them every day,” he declared.
Speaking on the conflict with Ukraine and President Joe Biden’s continued support of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy with ongoing military and financial assistance, Putin said, “‘If you really want to stop fighting, you need to stop supplying weapons. It will be over within a few weeks. That’s it. And then we can agree on some terms before you do that, stop.”
Putin says that he doesn’t remember the last time he talked to Biden. He says that the fighting would stop within weeks and a deal could be made if the US stopped giving Ukraine weapons.
Why won’t Joe Biden work towards peace rather than bloodshed?#TuckerCarlson pic.twitter.com/yBxJP58j0O— Green Lives Matter (@Ultrafrog17) February 8, 2024
He told Carlson he “cannot remember” the last time he spoke to Biden but believes it may have been February 2022 before the war with Ukraine. And on the response he currently gets from the White House, Putin said: “You were going to deliver such and such weapons to Ukraine. Oh, I’m afraid, I’m afraid. Please don’t. What is there to talk about?”
Putin was clear that there was almost a chance for a peace deal but the “Western side” wanted to keep the conflict going.
“We’re willing to negotiate,” he told Carlson. “It is the Western side, and Ukraine is obviously a satellite state of the US. It is evident. I do not want you to take it as if I am looking for a strong word or an insult. But we both understand what is happening.”
The Russian president also added some praise of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
“I think there’s no stopping Elon Musk. He will do as he sees fit […] I think he’s a smart person. I truly believe he is,” he said.
PUTIN: “There are reports that Elon Musk has already had a chip implanted in the human brain in the USA”
TUCKER: “What do you think of that?”
PUTIN: “I think there’s no stopping Elon Musk. He will do as he sees fit. Nevertheless, you’ll need to find some common ground with him” pic.twitter.com/QV6JFw0uFg
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) February 8, 2024
