Observers Read Into Putin-Carlson Interview For Signals On Ukraine War

US conservative pundit Tucker Carlson's interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin, posted on X on the evening of 8 Feb, has garnered significant worldwide attention given that it is the first time the Russian president has conducted an interview with a Western media figure since his invasion of Ukraine in Feb 2022. For markets the importance of the interview comes in whether it offered any signals as to the future of the war in Ukraine, and the future of relations between Russia and the West.

• On an end to the war, Putin claimed that “If you really want to stop fighting, [the West] need to stop supplying weapons [to Kyiv]. It will be over within a few weeks. That’s it”.
• Far from offering clear signals, the outcome of the interview is likely to be in the eye of the beholder. For some, Putin would appear to be coming from a position of strength (his forces are well embedded, US aid looks to be drying up, uncertainty over Ukraininan military leadership), and in responding in the negative when asked if Russia's aims have been met signals that he is ready for the conflict to grind on.
• For others, it will appear that Putin is in a position of weakness (given the massive economic, military, and social toll the war has had on Russia) and is looking for a swift way out of the conflict by "calling for the US to “make an agreement” to cede Ukrainian territory to Russia in order to end the war. "