Putin Tells Tucker Carlson That Zelensky Has the Power to Bring Peace

Russian President Vladimir Putin argued during his recent interview with conservative pundit Tucker Carlson that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky alone holds the power to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to a peaceful end.

In the former Fox News host's two-hour interview, which was released online Thursday, Putin insisted that he was "willing to negotiate" an end to the war. He claimed that Zelensky had signed a "decree" preventing negotiations at the behest of the United States, calling Ukraine a "a satellite state of the U.S."

The Context

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The governments of Zelensky and Putin did hold talks during the early months of the war but eventually dropped negotiations after it became clear that no progress was being made.

Putin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions for Russia not long after negotiations ended. Zelensky then signed a document that forbade negotiations with Putin, while not entirely ruling out talks with other Russian officials.

"He (Putin) does not know what dignity and honesty are," Zelensky said at the time, according to Reuters. "Therefore, we are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with another president of Russia."

The Ukrainian president has refused to negotiate any peace terms that do not include the return of all territory, including the Crimean peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

What We Know

"The President of Ukraine has legislated a ban on negotiating with Russia," Putin said during the Carlson interview. "He signed a decree forbidding everyone to negotiate with Russia. But how are we going to negotiate if he forbade himself and everyone to do this?"

"We're willing to negotiate," he continued. "It is the Western side, and Ukraine is obviously a satellite state of the U.S. ... The current Ukrainian leadership [should] stop and come to a negotiating table, rescind this absurd decree. We did not refuse."

Putin went on to say that he thought Ukraine had refused to negotiate "under the instruction from Washington," while adding that he believed the U.S. and NATO could recognize the annexed parts of Ukraine as Russian territory "with dignity."

Newsweek reached out for comment via email to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday night.

Views

Kusti Salm—permanent secretary at the Estonian Defense Ministry—told Newsweek in December that an end to the war in Ukraine and security for NATO could only come if Russia is "ruined" and leaves with "the understanding that they lost" and "will lose the next war."

While many have suggested that a negotiated end to the war would inevitably include territorial concessions to Russia that Kyiv would find to be unacceptable, others have argued that finding a compromise could benefit Ukraine in the long run.

Zelensky's demand of retaking Crimea looks especially unlikely to be achieved through negotiation. Putin is essentially a lock for reelection during Russia's presidential election set for next month.

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that he would be able to easily end the Russia-Ukraine war "within 24 hours" of negotiation, a claim that was abruptly dismissed by both Ukrainian and Russian officials.

What's Next?

Although Zelensky has been under increasing pressure to reopen peace talks, he again rejected negotiations in comments to The Economist last month, asserting that he did not "see any signals [of] peace" from Putin and dismissing Russia as "a terrorist country."

Zelensky also ruled out the possibility of a temporary ceasefire during a joint press conference with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas days later, saying that "a pause would play into [Russia's] hands" and could "crush" Ukraine.