Photo:VCG

Russian President Vladimir Putin once again attracted global attention after former Fox News host Tucker Carlson released a two-hour interview online, in which the Russian leader spoke frankly about Russian-Ukraine conflict, NATO expansion, and big power relations.

Analysts said through the interview, Putin's first with a Western media outlet since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine military conflict nearly two years ago, the Russian President expressed in the most direct and authoritative way the position of the Russia on many important issues, which will help the public to form a more balanced and fair view of Russia.

While the following attacks on Carlson by US politicians and media reflected a "deep-seated Russia rejection" among the American political elite, as well as an inherent prejudice of racial, cultural, and power superiority, which are not only a major challenge to US-Russia relations, but also a source of geopolitical chaos, they said.

At the beginning of the interview, Putin talked at length about the history of Eastern Europe and Russia. Warning that defeating Russia in Ukraine is "impossible," Putin claimed that Russia has no territorial claims to Poland, Latvia or other countries on the continent.

The Russian leader said Moscow did not start a war in 2022 but its goal is to stop the war that Ukraine unleashed in 2014, according to the Tass.

According to the Russian President, US think tanks and analysts, who have been engaged in Russian studies since the Cold War, have attempted to persuade the US government to create several quasi-states on Russian territory and subjugate their peoples, Tass reported.

Through Carlson's interview, Putin conveyed to the American public, in the most direct and authoritative way, Russia's views on issues such as the Ukraine crisis, as well as the merits of the many disputes between the US and Russia. It was a very high-quality conversation that allowed the world to better recognize or understand Russia's position, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Friday.

Six hours after Carlson posted the interview on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, it had received more than 520,000 likes and 151,000 retweets.

"The effect of the exchange is obvious. It was also a successful effort to shape Putin's image, among the world public, especially the American public," said Li, "this interview will enable the American public to form a more balanced views on topics such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, without being misled by the US media and politicians."

"Anyone who watched the interview objectively would have to agree that Putin is not the monster we were told he was, and negotiations can be made if there is competency from US leadership. Hopefully this will change the perception of the US being innocent darlings in the conflict, and can eventually lead to mass realization that the US/NATO are the ones who brought war and weapons to Russia's doorstep via espionage and CIA color revolutions," wrote an X user using the name "Clandestine."

"Unfortunately, the interview would not have the slightest impact on US policymakers who lack any self-reflection. On the contrary, it will be portrayed by the US mainstream media as a Russian propaganda campaign," Li said.

Prior to the interview airing, Carlson attracted broad criticism, with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton even labelling him a "useful idiot." The Guardian described Carlson as "Trump-supporting rightwing commentator," and the interview marked "a new level of infamy."

This shows once again that the key issue between Russia and US confrontation stems from the deep-rooted Russia rejection by the American political elites, as well as from an inherent sense of "racial superiority, cultural superiority, and superiority of power" in the way they look at and deal with European security matters and their policy towards Russia, Li said, "This is also the most serious challenge confronted by international affairs."

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is likely to carry on in 2024, as it's hard for the Biden administration to make a policy switch, and the majority of America's political elites still want to defeat Russia on the battlefield." Li remarked.

During the interview, Putin also noted that Russia ready to supply gas to Europe via surviving pipe of Nord Stream 2, however Germany decided not to reactivate it.

Stubborn, short-sighted and dangerous policies put in place by US and Western political elites will continue for some time, Li said, "only when the US diplomacy suffers a real huge setback will their elites do real soul-searching, and that will be the time to end the Ukraine crisis."

In response to the West's demonization of the rise of China, Putin said that China's foreign policy philosophy is not aggressive. Analysts hailed Putin's remarks as it objectively demonstrates the nature of China's diplomatic pursuit of peace and stability.

Chinese experts noted that US political conservatives represented by Carlson have a kind of resistance and prejudice against China that comes from their ideology. President Putin's remarks, which were based on an objective, deep and accurate understanding of China's diplomacy, is helpful in correcting the biased understanding of China and in easing the anxiety of Western societies about China's peaceful development, according to a Beijing-based expert, who requested anonymity.

This interview with Putin is also conductive for the Western society to be more objective about the nature of China's diplomatic philosophy and actions, and conveys an image to the international community that China is the one that is truly peaceful and stable, said the expert.

This is undoubtedly a display of the close strategic partnership between Russia and China, he added.