Interview Quotes

Here are the most significant quotes from the interview:

Historical Context and Justification for the War

"The Russian state started gathering itself as a centralized statehood, and it is considered to be the year of the establishment of the Russian state, in 862, when the townspeople of Novgorod invited a Varangian prince, Rurik, from Scandinavia to reign."

— Vladimir Putin • 00:06:16

"During decades, the Poles were engaged in pollinization of this part of the population. They introduced a language there, tried to entrench the idea that this population was not exactly Russians, that because they lived on the fringe, they were Ukrainians."

— Vladimir Putin • 00:08:52

"So, before World War II, Poland collaborated with Hitler and, although it did not yield to Hitler's demands, it still participated in the partitioning of Czechoslovakia together with Hitler..."

— Vladimir Putin • 00:14:39

"In 1922, when the USSR was being established, the Bolsheviks started building the USSR and established the Soviet Ukraine, which had never existed before."

— Vladimir Putin • 00:18:01

"So, we have every reason to affirm that Ukraine is an artificial state that was shaped at Stalin's will."

— Vladimir Putin • 00:20:43

"The West is afraid of strong China more than it fears a strong Russia, because Russia has 150 million people, and China has 1.5 billion population, and its economy is growing by leaps and bounds..."

— Vladimir Putin • 00:26:28

"The promise was that NATO would not expand eastward. But it happened five times. There were five waves of expansion. We tolerated all that. We were trying to persuade them."

— Vladimir Putin • 00:27:43

"In violation of international law and the UN Charter, it started bombing Belgrade. It was the United States that let the genie out of the bottle."

— Vladimir Putin • 00:29:38

"I asked him, Bill, do you think if Russia asked to join NATO, do you think it would happen? Suddenly he said, you know, it's interesting. I think so. But in the evening, when we met for dinner, he said, you know, I've talked to my team. No, no, it's not possible now."

— Vladimir Putin • 00:34:49

"Now about NATO's expansion to the east. Well, we were promised no NATO to the east, not an inch to the east, as we were told. And then what? They said, well, it's not enshrined on paper, so we'll expand."

— Vladimir Putin • 00:44:22

"A coup d'etat was committed, although I shall not delve into details now, as I find doing it inappropriate. The US told us. Calm Yanukovych down, and we will calm the opposition."

— Vladimir Putin • 00:53:34

"The goal is to stop this war. And we did not start this war in 2022."

— Vladimir Putin • 00:59:27

"Denazification. After gaining independence, Ukraine began to search, as some Western analysts say, its identity. And it came up with nothing better than to build this identity upon some false heroes who collaborated with Hitler."

— Vladimir Putin • 01:02:29

"I say that Ukrainians are part of the one Russian people. They say, no, we are a separate people. Okay, fine. If they consider themselves a separate people, they have the right to do so. But not on the basis of Nazism, the Nazi ideology."

— Vladimir Putin • 01:07:03

"The Canadian Parliament introduced a man who, as the Speaker of the Parliament said, fought against the Russians during the World War II. Well, who fought against the Russians during the World War II? Hitler and his accomplices."

— Vladimir Putin • 01:07:44

"We, together with my colleague and friend, President Xi Jinping, set a goal to reach 200 billion dollars of mutual trade with China this year. We have exceeded this level."

— Vladimir Putin • 01:35:46

"The BRICS countries are, by and large, developing very rapidly. Look, if memory serves me right, back in 1992 the share of the G7 countries in the world economy amounted to 47 percent, whereas in 2022 it was down to, I think, a little over 30 percent."

— Vladimir Putin • 01:37:36

"But if, in the end, one comes to the awareness that the world has been changing due to the objective circumstances and that one should be able to adapt to them in time using the advantages that the US still has today, then perhaps something may change."

— Vladimir Putin • 01:45:27

"Why, in my opinion, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, such an erroneous, crude, completely unjustified policy of pressure was pursued against Russia. After all, this is a policy of pressure. NATO expansion, support for the separatists and Caucasus, creation of a missile defense system."

— Vladimir Putin • 01:48:43

"All this put together led to the decision to end the war that neo-Nazis started in Ukraine in 2014."

— Vladimir Putin • 01:57:28

"The British persuaded us and we refused this. Where is Mr. Johnson now? And the war continues."

— Vladimir Putin • 02:02:59

"In the end, this Orthodoxy, Eastern Christianity, deeply rooted itself in the consciousness of the Russian people. When Russia expanded and absorbed other nations who profess Islam, Buddhism and Judaism, Russia has always been very loyal to those people who profess other religions. This is her strength."

— Vladimir Putin • 02:10:08

"It is very easy when it comes to protecting oneself and one's family, one's homeland. We won't attack anyone."

— Vladimir Putin • 02:15:15

"You are asking increasingly more complicated questions. To answer them, you need to be an expert in big numbers, big data and AI."

— Vladimir Putin • 02:19:13

"We have done so many gestures of goodwill out of decency that I think we have run out of them. We have never seen anyone reciprocate to us in a similar manner."

— Vladimir Putin • 02:22:53

"If a person gets secret information and does that in a conspiratorial manner, then this is qualified as espionage. And that is exactly what he was doing."

— Vladimir Putin • 02:25:50

"The more public we render things of this nature, the more difficult it becomes to resolve them. Everything has to be done in calm manner."

— Vladimir Putin • 02:30:33

"However, they made the wrong decision and now we have to look for a way out of the situation to correct their mistakes. They did it, so let them correct it themselves."

— Vladimir Putin • 02:34:41

"It is never going to happen. It seems to me that now those who are in power in the West have come to realize this as well."

— Vladimir Putin • 02:37:34

"The relations between the two peoples will be rebuilt anyway. It will take a lot of time, but they will heal."

— Vladimir Putin • 02:39:48

The Interviewer's Perspective

"At the beginning of the interview, we asked the most obvious question, which is, why did you do this? Did you feel a threat, an imminent physical threat? And that's your justification. And the answer we got shocked us."

— Tucker Carlson • 00:00:37

"And honestly, we thought this was a filibustering technique and found it annoying and interrupted him several times."

— Tucker Carlson • 00:01:15

"Instead, what you're about to see seemed to us sincere, whether you agree with it or not. Vladimir Putin believes that Russia has a historic claim to parts of Western Ukraine."

— Tucker Carlson • 00:01:42

"And to American ears, that sounds paranoid. Tell us why you believe the United States might strike Russia out of the blue. How did you conclude that?"

— Tucker Carlson • 00:03:37

"But may I ask you, you're making the case that Ukraine, certainly parts of Ukraine, Eastern Ukraine, is in effect Russia has been for hundreds of years. Why wouldn't you just take it when you became president? 24 years ago."

— Tucker Carlson • 00:11:07

"You have nuclear weapons, they don't, if it's actually your land. Why did you wait so long?"

— Tucker Carlson • 00:11:37

"But you've never explained why you think that happened, except to say that the West fears a strong Russia, but we have a strong China the West does not seem very afraid of."

— Tucker Carlson • 00:25:30

"You said I was bitter about the answer. No, it's not bitterness. It's just a statement of fact."

— Tucker Carlson • 00:38:40

"So you're describing a system that's not run by the people who are elected in your telling."

— Tucker Carlson • 00:43:07

"Well, of course, it did come true. And you've mentioned this many times. I think it's a fair point."

— Tucker Carlson • 00:24:47

"But you didn't make this case in public until two years ago, February. And in the case that you made, which I read today, you explain at great length that you felt a physical threat from the West in NATO, including potentially a nuclear threat. And that's what got you to move. Is that a fair characterization of what you said?"

— Tucker Carlson • 00:23:07

"But you've never explained why you think that happened, except to say that the West fears a strong Russia, but we have a strong China the West does not seem very afraid of."

— Tucker Carlson • 00:25:30

"Well, of course, it did come true. And you've mentioned this many times. I think it's a fair point."

— Tucker Carlson • 00:24:47

"Who blew up Nord Stream? You, for sure. I was busy that day. I did not blow up Nord Stream. Thank you, though."

— Tucker Carlson • 01:09:54

"But I'm confused. I mean, that's the biggest act of industrial terrorism ever, and it's the largest emission of CO2 in history. Okay, so if you had evidence, and presumably given your security services, your intel services, you would, that NATO, the US, CIA, the West did this, why wouldn't you present it and win a propaganda victory?"

— Tucker Carlson • 01:12:00

"And I want to ask you that. If we are now a multipolar world, obviously we are. Can you describe the blocks of alliances? Who is in each side, do you think?"

— Tucker Carlson • 01:17:29

"I think that's a fair assessment. The question is what comes next and maybe you trade one colonial power for another much less sentimental and forgiving colonial power. I mean, is the BRICS, for example, in danger of being completely dominated by the Chinese economy in a way that's not good for their sovereignty?"

— Tucker Carlson • 01:22:12

"So you said a moment ago that the world would be a lot better if it weren't broken into competing alliances, if there was cooperation globally. One of the reasons you don't have that is because the current American administration is dead set against you. Do you think if there were a new administration after Joe Biden that you would be able to re-establish communication with the US government, or does it not matter who the President is?"

— Tucker Carlson • 01:26:51

"Do you think Zelenskyy has the freedom to negotiate a settlement to this conflict?"

— Tucker Carlson • 01:58:42

"But do you think at this point, as of February 2024, he has the latitude, the freedom to speak with you or your government directly about putting an end to this, which clearly isn't helping his country or the world? Can he do that, do you think?"

— Tucker Carlson • 02:00:34

"So, I just want to make sure I'm not misunderstanding what you're saying. I don't think that I am. I think you're saying you want a negotiated settlement to what's happening in Ukraine."

— Tucker Carlson • 02:33:01

"Would you be willing to say, congratulations NATO, you won? And just keep the situation where it is now?"

— Tucker Carlson • 02:37:57

"Can I say that the one way in which the religions are different is that Christianity is specifically a nonviolent religion? Jesus says, turn the other cheek, don't kill. How can a leader who has to kill of any country, how can a leader be a Christian? How do you reconcile that to yourself?"

— Tucker Carlson • 02:17:09

"So when does the AI Empire start, do you think?"

— Tucker Carlson • 02:19:47

"I appreciate all the time you've given us. I just got to ask you one last question, and that's about someone who's very famous in the United States, probably not here, Evan Gershkovits, who's the Wall Street Journal reporter. He's 32 and he's been in prison for almost a year. This is a huge story in the United States. And I just want to ask you directly, without getting into the details of it or your version of what happened, if, as a sign of your decency, you would be willing to release him to us and we'll bring him back to the United States."

— Tucker Carlson • 02:21:20

"So, typically, I mean, this stuff has happened for, obviously, centuries. One country catches another spy within its borders, it trades it for one of its own intel guys in another country. I think what makes, and it's not my business, but what makes this difference is the guy's obviously not a spy, he's a kid. And maybe he was breaking your law in some way, but he's not a super spy and everybody knows that. And he's being held hostage in exchange, which is true. With respect, it's true and everyone knows it's true. So, maybe he's in a different category. Maybe it's not fair to ask for, you know, somebody else in exchange for letting him out. Maybe it degrades Russia to do that."

— Tucker Carlson • 02:24:19

"What is it then? But are you suggesting that he was working for the US government or NATO, or he was just a reporter who was given material he wasn't supposed to have? Those seem like very different things."

— Tucker Carlson • 02:28:31

"I wonder if that's, I wonder if that's true with the war, though, also. I mean, I just want to, I guess I want to ask one more question, which is, and maybe you don't want to say so for strategic reasons, but are you worried that what's happening in Ukraine could lead to something much larger and much more horrible? And how motivated are you just to call the US government and say, let's come to terms?"

— Tucker Carlson • 02:30:58

"So, I just want to make sure I'm not misunderstanding what you're saying. I don't think that I am. I think you're saying you want a negotiated settlement to what's happening in Ukraine."

— Tucker Carlson • 02:33:01

"Do you think it's too humiliating at this point for NATO to accept Russian control control of what was two years ago Ukrainian territory?"

— Tucker Carlson • 02:36:10

"I said let them think how to do it with dignity. There are options if there is a will."

— Vladimir Putin • 02:36:29

"And the relations between the two peoples will be rebuilt anyway. It will take a lot of time, but they will heal."

— Vladimir Putin • 02:39:48