Far-right pundit and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson confirmed on Tuesday he was in Moscow to interview Vladimir Putin, and said he will air his conversation with Russia’s president to counter what he described as pro-Ukraine “fawning pep sessions” by western media covering the war.

Speculation had been growing for days that Carlson, who was dumped by Fox last year for “getting too big for his boots”, had traveled to the Russian capital to meet Putin, whose reasons for invading Ukraine he says have a right to be heard by the American public.

But his visit, which reportedly has included visits to the Bolshoi ballet and dining in fine restaurants, has drawn accusations he is acting as a propaganda tool for Putin, whom he has frequently defended. Russian media, meanwhile, has hailed Carlson as a celebrity “who speaks the truth”.

Archive