Putin complains to Tucker Carlson about lack of sharp questions

(Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin says he was surprised by the lack of sharp questions from U.S. television host Tucker Carlson in an interview that made headlines around the world last week.

Putin told a Russian TV interviewer, Pavel Zarubin, that he would have liked Carlson to have behaved more aggressively, which would have given him the right to respond just as bluntly.

Putin said, “To be honest, I thought that he would behave aggressively and ask so-called sharp questions. I was not ready for it, I wanted it, because it would give me the opportunity to answer in the same way.” The comments aired on Wednesday.

In his first interview with an American journalist before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago, Putin gave Carlson a half-hour lecture on history.

He told Zarubin he was surprised Carlson didn’t stop him more.

Putin said, “To be honest, I did not get complete satisfaction from this interview.”

The Kremlin said Putin had agreed to interview Carlson because the former Fox News host’s approach differed from the “one-sided” reporting of the Ukraine conflict by many Western news outlets.

(Writing by Maxim Rodionov; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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