![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaPutin tells Tucker Carlson deal can be reached to free jailed US reporter Evan GershkovichPublished4 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Tucker Carlson NetworkImage caption, Mr Carlson interviewed the Russian president in the KremlinBy Mike WendlingBBC NewsPresident Vladimir Putin has said he believes a deal can be reached to free Evan Gershkovich, a US reporter detained last year in Russia.Speaking with US host Tucker Carlson, Mr Putin said talks were ongoing with the US about the journalist, who is being held on espionage charges. In the interview, Putin held forth on Ukraine, US presidents and the CIA.It’s the first time the Russian leader has sat down with a Western journalist since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.Mr Putin said he believed a deal could be struck to release Mr Gershkovich, 32, “if our partners take reciprocal steps”.”The special services are in contact with one another. They are talking… I believe an agreement can be reached.”Mr Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was arrested in the city of Yekaterinburg, about 1,600km (1,000 miles) east of Moscow, on 29 March of last year.In January, Russia again extended his pre-trial detention until the end of March. He faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty. The interview, more than two hours long, was filmed in Moscow on Tuesday.It began with a question about Mr Putin’s reason for ordering the invasion of Ukraine two years ago.”Tell us why you believe the United States might strike Russia out of the blue,” Mr Carlson asked. “How did you conclude that?””It’s not that America, the United States, was going to launch a surprise strike on Russia,” Mr Putin said through a translator. “I didn’t say that. Are we having a talk show or a serious conversation?”What does Putin gain from Tucker Carlson interview?Mr Putin then spoke at length – more than half an hour – about the history of Eastern Europe, beginning with the establishment of the Russian state in the 9th Century. He argued that parts of Ukraine had long belonged to Russia. He has given various justifications for the invasion, which he repeated during the interview.Mr Putin also insisted that Russia has no interest in invading Poland, Latvia or other Nato countries, calling such a scenario “absolutely out of the question”. He accused Nato member states of trying to intimidate people with what he called an imaginary Russian threat, and accused the CIA of supporting Russian separatist groups, controlling US foreign policy and destroying the Nord Stream pipeline.Mr Putin also discussed his relationship with American presidents, repeating a story he has previously mentioned about Bill Clinton suggesting that Russia could join Nato, only to withdraw the option shortly afterwards. He said he had a “very good relationship” with George W Bush.”He was no worse than any other American or Russian or European politician,” Mr Putin said. “I assure you he understood what he was doing as well as others. I had such [a] personal relationship with Trump as well.”Mr Putin said he did not recall the last time he spoke with President Joe Biden. Before the interview, Mr Carlson claimed “not a single Western journalist has bothered to interview” Mr Putin since 2022. But Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told the BBC: “Mr Carlson is not correct, and he couldn’t have known that. We receive a lot of requests for interviews with the president.”Countless reporters from Western countries, including the BBC’s Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg, have sent the Kremlin repeated interview requests. All of the BBC’s requests have been ignored.Russian state media spent several days covering Mr Carlson’s visit, broadcasting footage of his various trips to restaurants and a visit to see the Spartacus ballet at the Bolshoi Theater.Mr Carlson was the highest-rated primetime host on Fox News until he was taken off air in April 2023, for reasons the channel has never made clear. He started his own media company and found an outlet on X, formerly Twitter.Content on the Tucker Carlson Network consists mostly of friendly interviews with right-wing politicians – including a chat with Donald Trump timed to coincide with a Republican presidential debate – and other figures such as Andrew Tate and Russell Brand.Related TopicsRussiaVladimir PutinUnited StatesMore on this storyRussia extends US journalist Gershkovich’s detentionPublished26 JanuaryThe former Fox star interviewing Vladimir PutinPublished3 hours agoRussian state media revels in Tucker Carlson visitPublished2 days agoWhat does Putin gain from Tucker Carlson interview?Published6 hours agoTop StoriesNo charge for Biden over classified documents but report questions memoryPublished1 hour agoStarmer defends U-turn on £28bn green spendingPublished5 hours agoUS will not support unplanned Rafah offensivePublished1 hour agoFeaturesFive things in the Biden classified documents report’We are surrounded’ – Guarding the Middle East’s most dangerous borderWhat happened to Labour’s £28bn for green projects?North Koreans working in China ‘exploited like slaves’Why the e-bike boom is raising fire fearsListen: Starmer faces backlash over scaling back of green plan. AudioListen: Starmer faces backlash over scaling back of green planAttributionSoundsParis 2024 medals to include Eiffel Tower metalAttributionSportI rarely saw people like me in lead roles, says One Day starClimbing Everest? You need to bring your poo backElsewhere on the BBC’If I can’t live with you, I don’t want to live anyway’The Hungarian footballer executed for loveAttributionSoundsFrom the seizure of Crimea to the war in UkraineThe inside story of a decade of clashes, as told by the Western leaders who traded blows with PutinAttributioniPlayerFrom The Fall to Fifty ShadesActor Jamie Dornan shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren LaverneAttributionSoundsHow do they make two million litres of stout per day?Gregg Wallace hops into the world of Irish stout at the Guinness brewery in DublinAttributioniPlayerMost Read1Putin says deal can be reached to free US reporter2US will not support unplanned Rafah offensive3Zelensky sacks Ukraine’s commander-in-chief4No charge for Biden over documents but report questions memory5Snow and ice warnings as cold blast to continue6TikTok and Temu pull cheap heaters over fire risk7Five things in the Biden classified documents report8Fashion icons assemble for Enninful’s last Vogue9What does Putin gain from Tucker Carlson interview?10US court sceptical of move to bar Trump from ballot](https://newsinsightplus.com/wp-content/uploads/https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/126EB/production/_132599457_tuckercarlson.png)
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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaPutin tells Tucker Carlson deal can be reached to free jailed US reporter Evan GershkovichPublished4 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Tucker Carlson NetworkImage caption, Mr Carlson interviewed the Russian president in the KremlinBy Mike WendlingBBC NewsPresident Vladimir Putin has said he believes a deal can be reached to free Evan Gershkovich, a US reporter detained last year in Russia.Speaking with US host Tucker Carlson, Mr Putin said talks were ongoing with the US about the journalist, who is being held on espionage charges. In the interview, Putin held forth on Ukraine, US presidents and the CIA.It’s the first time the Russian leader has sat down with a Western journalist since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.Mr Putin said he believed a deal could be struck to release Mr Gershkovich, 32, “if our partners take reciprocal steps”.”The special services are in contact with one another. They are talking… I believe an agreement can be reached.”Mr Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was arrested in the city of Yekaterinburg, about 1,600km (1,000 miles) east of Moscow, on 29 March of last year.In January, Russia again extended his pre-trial detention until the end of March. He faces up to 20 years in prison if found guilty. The interview, more than two hours long, was filmed in Moscow on Tuesday.It began with a question about Mr Putin’s reason for ordering the invasion of Ukraine two years ago.”Tell us why you believe the United States might strike Russia out of the blue,” Mr Carlson asked. “How did you conclude that?””It’s not that America, the United States, was going to launch a surprise strike on Russia,” Mr Putin said through a translator. “I didn’t say that. Are we having a talk show or a serious conversation?”What does Putin gain from Tucker Carlson interview?Mr Putin then spoke at length – more than half an hour – about the history of Eastern Europe, beginning with the establishment of the Russian state in the 9th Century. He argued that parts of Ukraine had long belonged to Russia. He has given various justifications for the invasion, which he repeated during the interview.Mr Putin also insisted that Russia has no interest in invading Poland, Latvia or other Nato countries, calling such a scenario “absolutely out of the question”. He accused Nato member states of trying to intimidate people with what he called an imaginary Russian threat, and accused the CIA of supporting Russian separatist groups, controlling US foreign policy and destroying the Nord Stream pipeline.Mr Putin also discussed his relationship with American presidents, repeating a story he has previously mentioned about Bill Clinton suggesting that Russia could join Nato, only to withdraw the option shortly afterwards. He said he had a “very good relationship” with George W Bush.”He was no worse than any other American or Russian or European politician,” Mr Putin said. “I assure you he understood what he was doing as well as others. I had such [a] personal relationship with Trump as well.”Mr Putin said he did not recall the last time he spoke with President Joe Biden. Before the interview, Mr Carlson claimed “not a single Western journalist has bothered to interview” Mr Putin since 2022. But Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told the BBC: “Mr Carlson is not correct, and he couldn’t have known that. We receive a lot of requests for interviews with the president.”Countless reporters from Western countries, including the BBC’s Russia Editor Steve Rosenberg, have sent the Kremlin repeated interview requests. All of the BBC’s requests have been ignored.Russian state media spent several days covering Mr Carlson’s visit, broadcasting footage of his various trips to restaurants and a visit to see the Spartacus ballet at the Bolshoi Theater.Mr Carlson was the highest-rated primetime host on Fox News until he was taken off air in April 2023, for reasons the channel has never made clear. He started his own media company and found an outlet on X, formerly Twitter.Content on the Tucker Carlson Network consists mostly of friendly interviews with right-wing politicians – including a chat with Donald Trump timed to coincide with a Republican presidential debate – and other figures such as Andrew Tate and Russell Brand.Related TopicsRussiaVladimir PutinUnited StatesMore on this storyRussia extends US journalist Gershkovich’s detentionPublished26 JanuaryThe former Fox star interviewing Vladimir PutinPublished3 hours agoRussian state media revels in Tucker Carlson visitPublished2 days agoWhat does Putin gain from Tucker Carlson interview?Published6 hours agoTop StoriesNo charge for Biden over classified documents but report questions memoryPublished1 hour agoStarmer defends U-turn on £28bn green spendingPublished5 hours agoUS will not support unplanned Rafah offensivePublished1 hour agoFeaturesFive things in the Biden classified documents report’We are surrounded’ – Guarding the Middle East’s most dangerous borderWhat happened to Labour’s £28bn for green projects?North Koreans working in China ‘exploited like slaves’Why the e-bike boom is raising fire fearsListen: Starmer faces backlash over scaling back of green plan. AudioListen: Starmer faces backlash over scaling back of green planAttributionSoundsParis 2024 medals to include Eiffel Tower metalAttributionSportI rarely saw people like me in lead roles, says One Day starClimbing Everest? You need to bring your poo backElsewhere on the BBC’If I can’t live with you, I don’t want to live anyway’The Hungarian footballer executed for loveAttributionSoundsFrom the seizure of Crimea to the war in UkraineThe inside story of a decade of clashes, as told by the Western leaders who traded blows with PutinAttributioniPlayerFrom The Fall to Fifty ShadesActor Jamie Dornan shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren LaverneAttributionSoundsHow do they make two million litres of stout per day?Gregg Wallace hops into the world of Irish stout at the Guinness brewery in DublinAttributioniPlayerMost Read1Putin says deal can be reached to free US reporter2US will not support unplanned Rafah offensive3Zelensky sacks Ukraine’s commander-in-chief4No charge for Biden over documents but report questions memory5Snow and ice warnings as cold blast to continue6TikTok and Temu pull cheap heaters over fire risk7Five things in the Biden classified documents report8Fashion icons assemble for Enninful’s last Vogue9What does Putin gain from Tucker Carlson interview?10US court sceptical of move to bar Trump from ballot
[ad_1] The Russian leader spoke to Tucker Carlson in his first interview with a Western journalist since the Ukraine invasion.
![BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountLiveNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaBiden classified documents: Special counsel raises questions about the president’s ‘poor memory’Published41 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsUS election 2024Image source, Getty ImagesBy Matt MurphyBBC News, WashingtonA landmark report from Special Counsel Robert Hur has raised serious questions about President Joe Biden’s memory, allegations the White House has been quick to rebuff. Declining to prosecute Mr Biden for retaining troves of classified documents, Mr Hur – a Republican – said the 81-year-old would likely present himself at trial as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory”. Elsewhere, the report challenged Mr Biden for retaining reams of classified information, and for storing it improperly and insecurely. The White House has already attacked the report, saying the descriptions of the president’s memory were not “accurate or appropriate” and said that they had no place in a Department of Justice report. Major questions raised about the president’s memoryThe report found that the president’s memory “appeared to have significant limitations”.The quotes are among dozens of examples in the report which raise major questions about Mr Biden’s memory and mental agility. In one passage, the special counsel described extended interview with the ghost writer of Mr Biden’s book, Mark Zwonitzer, where the president appeared to struggle to recall significant events from his time serving as vice-president to Barack Obama. “Mr Biden’s recorded conversations with Zwonitzer from 2017 are often painfully slow, with Mr Biden struggling to remember events and straining at times to read and relay his own notebook entries.” The report then details Mr Biden’s interviews with the special counsels’ office, for which he sat voluntarily, six years later. It describes his memory as having become worse in intervening period. “In his interview with our office, Mr Biden’s memory was worse. He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended (‘if it was 2013 – when did I stop being Vice President?’), and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began (‘in 2009, am I still Vice President’).” Elsewhere, the report says that Mr Biden struggled to remember key events that caused divisions in the early days of the Obama administration. In particular, it suggests that Mr Biden struggled to describe the intricacies of a debate surrounding the surge of troops into Afghanistan in 2009. The then vice-president was opposed to President Obama’s decision to send 30,000 additional US troops into the country to support the government of Hamid Karzai. Instead, Mr Biden wanted to expand special operations missions and drone strikes. “His memory appeared hazy when describing the Afghanistan debate that was once so important to him. Among other things, he mistakenly said he “had a real difference” of opinion with General Karl Eikenberry, when, in fact, Eikenberry was an ally whom Mr Biden cited approvingly in his Thanksgiving memo to President Obama.”Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Mr Biden disagreed with Mr Obama’s decision to send 30,000 US troops to shore up Hamid Karzai’s governmentElsewhere, Mr Hur’s report also suggests that Mr Biden could not recall when exactly his son, Beau, passed away. “He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died.” The president’s son, a former US army soldier in Iraq and Delaware’s ex-attorney general, died in May 2015, aged 46. Mr Biden has described the event as one of the worst days of his life. While Mr Hur’s report offers these examples as evidence of Mr Biden’s diminished mental faculties, the report has already come under attack from Democrats. Richard Sauber – Mr Biden’s special counsel – condemned the report and urged Mr Hur, who has no medical training, to “revisit [his] descriptions of President Biden’s memory and revise them so that they are stated in a manner that is within the bounds of your expertise and remit”.Mr Sauber also observed that the interviews began the day after the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October last year, and that Mr Hur seemed to accept it was reasonable that other witnesses could not recall events which, in some cases, occurred almost 15 years ago. Biden stored classified documents next to a dog bedIn another section of the report, Mr Hur described how investigators who raised Mr Biden’s home in Delaware found scores of classified documents relating to Afghanistan in his cluttered garage. The report said the files were discovered “near a collapsed dog crate, a dog bed, a Zappos box, an empty bucket, a broken lamp wrapped with duct tape, potting soil, and synthetic firewood”.Image source, FBIImage caption, A number of classified files were found in Mr Biden’s cluttered garageBut it noted that “reasonable juror could conclude that this is not where a person intentionally stores what he supposedly considers to be important classified documents, critical to his legacy”. Instead, Mr Hur once again raised questions over Mr Biden’s memory, saying the discovery looked “like a place a person stores classified documents he has forgotten about or is unaware of”. Biden thought Obama was making a major mistake with Afghanistan surgeShortly after coming to office, Mr Obama became convinced that a surge of US forces into Afghanistan was the only way to maintain stability in the country. Mr Biden, as previously stated, was strongly opposed to the policy. The then vice-president viewed himself as “a historic figure” who frequently maintained diaries and records with a view to later writing his legacy. The report says Biden had a strong motive to keep the classified documents about Afghanistan, because he wanted to prove that he was opposed to Mr Obama’s decision to send extra troops there.He “believed President Obama’s 2009 troop surge was a mistake on par with Vietnam”, the report states, adding: “He wanted record to show that he was right about Afghanistan; that his critics were wrong.”Contrast drawn with evasive TrumpMr Hur credits Mr Biden with immediately handing over the documents to investigators after he found them. “Mr Biden turned in classified documents to the National Archives and the Department of Justice, consented to the search of multiple locations including his homes, sat for a voluntary interview. and in other ways cooperated with the investigation.” And he drew a strong distinction with former President Donald Trump, who he says adopted the opposite approach. Mr Trump is facing multiple charges for obstructing efforts to investigate the storage of the files at his Florida home. “Unlike the evidence involving Mr. Biden, the allegations set forth in the indictment of Mr Trump, if proven, would present serious aggravating facts.”Most notably, after being given multiple chances to return classified documents and avoid prosecution, Mr Trump allegedly did the opposite. According to the indictment, he not only refused to return the documents for many months, but he also obstructed justice by enlisting others to destroy evidence and then to lie about it.”Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Donald trump allegedly kept secret documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after he left office and obstructed government efforts to retrieve themIt was reasonable for Biden to keep some classified diaries Mr Biden has long kept notebooks in which he would write classified information during meetings. The report noted that during his eight years as vice-president, Mr Biden regularly kept notebooks that included details of classified subjects, including the President’s Daily Brief and National Security Council meetings. These notebooks were later removed from the White House and discovered in unlocked drawers and from the basement of his Delaware and Virginia homes. Mr Biden, the report said, was aware the notebooks contained classified information but still read aloud from them to his ghost writer. But the report accepts that given the precedent set by former President Ronald Reagan – who also kept notebooks filled with classified information – that it may have been reasonable for Mr Biden to believe that he had a right to hold onto the information. “Many jurors would conclude that, given the Department’s treatment of Mr Reagan, who kept his classified diaries for more than a decade before his death, it would have been plausible for Mr Biden to believe he could properly keep his classified notebooks. Citing relevant sources of likely would not sway such jurors from this conclusion.” Related TopicsRepublican PartyUS election 2024Joe BidenMore on this storyBiden will not be charged over top secret documentsPublished36 minutes agoBiden interviewed over handling of classified filesPublished10 October 2023Top StoriesSpecial counsel raises questions about Biden’s memoryPublished41 minutes agoStarmer defends U-turn on £28bn green spendingPublished4 hours agoKing doing ‘extremely well’ after diagnosis, says Queen. VideoKing doing ‘extremely well’ after diagnosis, says QueenPublished3 hours agoFeaturesWhat does Putin gain from Tucker Carlson interview?’We are surrounded’ – Guarding the Middle East’s most dangerous borderWhat happened to Labour’s £28bn for green projects?North Koreans working in China ‘exploited like slaves’Listen: Starmer faces backlash over scaling back of green plan. AudioListen: Starmer faces backlash over scaling back of green planAttributionSoundsParis 2024 medals to include Eiffel Tower metalAttributionSportI rarely saw people like me in lead roles, says One Day starClimbing Everest? You need to bring your poo backDisney boss betting big on Taylor Swift and Fortnite to boost streaming serviceElsewhere on the BBC’If I can’t live with you, I don’t want to live anyway’The Hungarian footballer executed for loveAttributionSoundsFrom the seizure of Crimea to the war in UkraineThe inside story of a decade of clashes, as told by the Western leaders who traded blows with PutinAttributioniPlayerFrom The Fall to Fifty ShadesActor Jamie Dornan shares the soundtrack of his life with Lauren LaverneAttributionSoundsHow do they make two million litres of stout per day?Gregg Wallace hops into the world of Irish stout at the Guinness brewery in DublinAttributioniPlayerMost Read1Special counsel raises questions about Biden’s memory2What does Putin gain from Tucker Carlson interview?3Snow and ice warnings as cold blast to continue4Zelensky sacks Ukraine’s commander-in-chief5Apprentice hopeful says he prayed in boardroom6Fashion icons assemble for Enninful’s last Vogue7Pizza takeaway raid in search for Clapham suspect8US court sceptical of move to bar Trump from ballot9Nuclear fusion leap brings clean power dream closer10Starmer defends U-turn on £28bn green spending](https://newsinsightplus.com/wp-content/uploads/https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/182D/production/_132598160_gettyimages-1990691081.jpg)
