Putin interview released by ex-Fox host Tucker Carlson

Conservative US media personality Tucker Carlson has released a controversial interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The more than two-hour video was filmed in Moscow on Tuesday, Carlson said.

It's the first time the Russian leader has sat down with a Western journalist since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The interview began with a question about Mr Putin's reason for ordering the invasion of Ukraine.

"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?"

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.

The Russian president argued that parts of Ukraine had long belonged to Russia. He has given various justifications for the invasion.

During the interview, Mr Putin gave lengthy answers to questions and repeatedly admonished Mr Carlson when he attempted to bring the subject back to the war in Ukraine.

The Russian president also discussed his relationship with American presidents, repeating a story he has previously mentioned, about Bill Clinton suggesting that Russia could join the Nato alliance, 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 to President Biden.

Prior to 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 interview 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 prime-time 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.

Although more than 120m people saw at least a piece of his introductory video on X, figures fell dramatically, with most of his recent videos registering less than 10m views. The company formerly known as Twitter says it counts at least two seconds of watch time as a "view".