New York: Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson that Russia will fight for its interests “to the end” but has no interest in expanding its war in Ukraine to other countries such as Poland and Latvia.
Putin said Western leaders had come to realize it was impossible to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia and were wondering what to do next. “We are ready for this dialog,” he said. Putin also said he believed it was possible to reach an agreement to free US journalist Evan Gershkovich of the Wall Street Journal, who has been detained in Russia for nearly a year and is awaiting trial on spying charges. Putin made the comments in a more than two-hour interview with conservative talk-show host Tucker Carlson that was conducted in Moscow on Tuesday and aired on tuckercarlson.com.
The Financial Times reported that the EU has included restrictions on an Indian company and three Chinese firms in its 13th sanctions package against Russia. If approved, this will be the first time that Indian and Chinese firms would be directly targeted by the EU for sanctions since the Russia-Ukraine conflict erupted. The listed companies, mainly involved in technology and electronics, are accused of contributing to Russia’s military and technological capabilities.
The Russian leader said the US had pressing domestic issues to worry about. “Wouldn’t it be better to negotiate with Russia? Make an agreement. Already understanding the situation that is developing today, realizing that Russia will fight for its interests to the end,” Putin said.
Washington, which has sent Ukraine more than $110 billion in aid since Russia invaded in February 2022, has made clear it has no interest in talking on Putin’s terms Putin was last formally interviewed by a U.S. media outlet in October 2021, when CNBC’s Hadley Gamble spoke to him.
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Putin “would be assassinated” if he backs out of Ukraine: Elon Musk
New York: Elon Musk told US Republican senators “there is no way in hell” that Russian President Vladimir Putin could lose the war on Ukraine, weighing in on a conflict that has been affected by Musk’s own Starlink satellite services. Musk, the billionaire chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., made the comments in a forum on X Spaces, part of his X social media platform. The discussions included opponents of a Senate bill that would provide further assistance for Ukraine to continue battling the full-scale Russian invasion that began two years ago.
Musk has expressed similar sentiments before on X, doubting Ukraine’s ability to win the war and mocking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s requests for aid. The tech mogul has come under criticism from Ukraine and Democratic members of Congress. Musk said there was pressure on Putin to see the fight through. “If he were to back off, he would be assassinated,” Musk said.
Musk told the senators he’s sometimes accused of being a Putin apologist, but said that accusation was “absurd.” He said his companies “have probably done more to undermine Russia than anything.” (Courtesy: Bloomberg)
