Putin to Tucker Carlson: ‘Ukraine Is Obviously a Satellite State of the U.S.’

Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed, “Ukraine is obviously a satellite state of the U.S.” in an interview with journalist Tucker Carlson published on Thursday.

“Ukraine is obviously a satellite state of the U.S. It is evident,” Putin asserted in an interview with Tucker Carlson on Tuesday.

Watch Below (time code — 01:58:15):

Ep. 73 The Vladimir Putin Interview pic.twitter.com/67YuZRkfLL

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) February 8, 2024

Putin was responding to a question from Carlson, who asked, “Are you worried that what’s happening in Ukraine could lead to something much larger and much more horrible? And how motivated are you to call the U.S. government and say, ‘Let’s come to terms’?”

“I already said that we did not refuse to talk. We’re willing to negotiate,” Putin replied. “It is the Western side – and Ukraine is obviously a satellite state of the U.S. It is evident.”

Carlson replied, saying, “Of course, they’re a satellite. Big countries control small countries. That’s not new.”

“And that’s why I asked about dealing directly with the Biden administration, which is making these decisions, not President [Volodymyr] Zelensky of Ukraine,” Carlson added.

Putin responded, “If the Zelensky administration in Ukraine refused to negotiate, I assume they did it under the instruction from Washington.”

“If Washington believes it to be the wrong decision, let it abandon it,” Putin added. “It was not us who made this decision. It was them. So let them go back on it. That is it.”

Carlson then asked for clarification, asking Putin directly: “You want a negotiated settlement to what’s happening in Ukraine?”

“Right,” Putin replied. “And we made it. We prepared a huge document in Istanbul that was initialed by the head of the Ukrainian delegation.”

“He affixed his signature to some of the provisions — not to all of it — he put his signature, and then, he himself said, ‘We were ready to sign it, and the war would have been over long ago, 18 months ago. However, Prime Minister Johnson came, talked us out of it, and we missed that chance,'” Putin added.

Elsewhere in the interview, Putin repeated a Russian claim that former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson instructed Ukraine to tear up an advanced peace negotiation in the early days of the war – a claim Ukraine has already denied.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X/Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.