Tucker Carlson said on Tuesday that US spies had monitored him while he was in Russia earlier this month, and leaked to a ‘friendly’ outlet that he had met with Edward Snowden. This is despite the American journalist’s claim that he had tried to keep his meeting with the NSA whistle-blower a secret.
Carlson went to Russia to interview President Vladimir Putin. During his eight days in Moscow, he also met with Snowden – and US spies found out about it, he told podcaser Lex Fridman in the course of a three-hour conversation. “I was being intensely surveilled by the US government,” Carlson told Fridman, noting that US spies had thwarted his plans to interview Putin in 2021 and that he received confirmation that he was being intensely monitored ahead of his Moscow trip. “Then, I’m over there, and of course I want to see Snowden, whom I admire.”Snowden allegedly accepted Carlson’s invitation to have dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel, but declined the interview as well as a photo request, saying that it would be better to tell no one. “I didn’t tell anybody,” Carlson told Fridman, however the meeting was leaked. “Semafor runs this piece – reporting information they got from the US intel agencies, leaking against me, using my money, in my name, in a supposedly free country – they run this piece saying I met with Snowden, like it was a crime or something.” “If you have a media establishment that acts as employees of the national security state, you don’t have a free country. And that’s where we are,” Carlson added. Carlson revealed that he did not fear getting arrested in Russia at any point, but was warned by his lawyers that the US might arrest him depending on the content of the Putin interview. “I felt not one twinge of concern for the 8 days that I was there,” he told Fridman about being in Moscow. Before he left for Russia, his team of attorneys counseled him to “not do this… A lot will depend on the questions you ask of Putin. If you’re seen as too nice to him you could be arrested when you come back,” Carlson quoted the lead lawyer as saying, to which he said he replied, “You’re describing a fascist country, OK?” In 2013, Snowden revealed that the NSA was systematically engaged in mass illegal spying on American citizens. Fearing for his safety, he fled to Hong Kong with the intent to reach Ecuador, which did not have an extradition treaty with the US, but was stopped during a layover in Moscow after Washington canceled his passport. Russia ended up granting him asylum and reportedly, eventual citizenship. One of the founders of Semafor, the outlet to which Carlson claims US spies leaked his dinner with Snowden, is Ben Smith, a former editor-in-chief of the now defunct BuzzFeed newsroom. In 2017, Smith notoriously published the ‘Steele Dossier,’ a sham document leaked by US spies to discredit incoming President Donald Trump.
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French President Emmanuel Macron has argued that deployments of troops to Ukraine by NATO members and other allies cannot be ruled out because Western powers must stop at nothing to ensure that Russia does not defeat Kiev’s forces.
“There’s no consensus today to send, in an official manner, troops on the ground,” Macron told reporters after hosting a meeting of European leaders on Monday in Paris. “But in terms of dynamics, we cannot exclude anything. We will do everything necessary to prevent Russia from winning this war.” France hosted Monday’s summit of Ukraine backers to demonstrate steadfast support and European unity amid concerns that US aid to Kiev may stop, especially if Donald Trump wins this year’s presidential election. Macron said that while Ukraine’s European allies want to avoid escalating the conflict into a direct war with Russia, they agree that they must do more to ensure that Moscow doesn’t win. “We have to take stock of the situation and realize our collective security is at stake,” the French leader said. “We have to ratchet up. Russia must not win, not only for Ukraine, but secondly, we are, by doing so, ensuring our collective security for today and for the future.” Macron noted that the allies who say “never, ever” today about direct troop deployments to Ukraine are the same ones that previously ruled out escalations of military aid that were later granted, including long-range missiles and fighter jets. “Two years ago, a lot around this table said that we will offer helmets and sleeping bags, and now they’re saying we need to do more to get missiles and tanks to Ukraine. We have to be humble and realize that we’ve always been six to eight months late, so we’ll do what is needed to achieve our aim.” There is broad consensus among the nations represented at Monday’s meeting that the allies must provide more aid to Ukraine and step up more quickly, Macron claimed. “We are not at war with the Russian people, but we cannot let them win in Ukraine,” he said, adding, “We are determined to do everything necessary for as long as necessary. That is the key takeaway from this evening.” Washington ran out of money for Ukraine last month, after burning through $113 billion in congressionally approved aid packages. US President Joe Biden is seeking an additional $60 billion in Ukraine funding as part of an emergency spending bill that also includes aid for Israel and Taiwan. Conservative Republican lawmakers have balked at approving more aid for Ukraine, saying Biden is merely prolonging the conflict without changing its outcome. Trump has claimed he would end the crisis swiftly by forcing the Ukrainian and Russian leaders to the negotiating table. Political scientist Ivan Katchanovski – of the University of Ottawa – revealed last year, in a paper, that the February 2014 massacre of Ukrainian protesters by sniper fire, a defining moment of the Western-backed Maidan coup, was not published by an academic journal for “political reasons.” In a lengthy Twitter thread, Katchanovski first laid out the circumstances behind the rejection of his article, and the bombshell evidence included in it. The paper was initially accepted with minor revisions after peer review, and the journal's editor offered a glowing appraisal of his work, writing: “There is no doubt that this paper is exceptional in many ways. It offers evidence against the mainstream narrative of the regime change in Ukraine in 2014… It seems to me that the evidence the study produces in favour of its interpretation on who was behind the massacre of the protesters and the police during the ‘Euromaidan’ mass protests on February 18-20, 2014, in Ukraine, is solid. On this there is also consensus among the two reviewers.” As the editor noted, the massacre was a “politically crucial development,” which led to the “transition of powers in the country” from the freely elected Viktor Yanukovich to the illegitimate and rabidly nationalistic administration of Aleksandr Turchinov, a former security services chief. It was endlessly cited in Western media as a symbol of the brutality of Ukraine’s government and an unprovoked attack on innocent pro-WesternMaidan protesters, who allegedly sought nothing more than democracy and freedom. Rumors that the killings were a false flag intended to inflame tensions among the vast crowds filling Maidan, and provoke violence against the authorities, began circulating immediately. No serious investigation into what happened was ever conducted by the Western media, with all claims that the sniper attacks were an inside job dismissed as Kremlin “disinformation.” However, even NATO’s Atlantic Council adjunct admitted in 2020 that the massacre was unsolved and that this “cast a shadow over Ukraine.” It may not remain unsolved for much longer though, due to an ongoing trial of policemen at the scene on the fateful day. The legal action has been unfolding for well over a year and has received no mainstream news attention at all outside Ukraine. Katchanovski drew heavily on witness testimony and video evidence that has emerged over the course of the trial in his suppressed paper. For example, 51 protesters wounded during the incident testified at the trial that they were shot by snipers from Maidan-controlled buildings, and/or witnessed snipers there. Many spoke of snipers in buildings controlled by Maidan protesters shooting at police. This is consistent with other evidence collected by Katchanovski, such as 14 separate videos of snipers in protester-controlled buildings, 10 of which clearly feature far-right gunmen in the Hotel Ukraina aiming at crowds below. In all, 300 witnesses have told much the same story. Synchronized videos show that the specific time and direction of shots fired by the police not only didn’t coincide with the killings of specific Maidan protesters, but that authorities aimed at walls, trees, lampposts, and even the ground, simply to disperse crowds. Among those targeted by apparently Maidan-aligned snipers were journalists at Germany’s ARD. They weren’t the only Western news station in town at the time – so too were Belgian reporters, who not only filmed Maidan protesters screaming towards Hotel Ukraina for snipers not to shoot them, but also participants being actively lured to the killing zone. This incendiary footage was never broadcast.
CNN likewise filmed far-right elements firing at police from behind Maidan barricades, then hunting for positions to shoot from the 11th floor of the Hotel Ukraina, minutes before the BBC filmed snipers shooting protesters from a room where a far-right MP was staying. The network opted not to report this at the time. We needn’t rely purely on video footage. Over the course of the trial, no fewer than 14 self-confessed members of Maidan sniper groups testified they had explicitly received massacre orders, Katchanovski claims. By contrast, no police officer at the scene has said they were directed to kill unarmed protesters, no minister has come forward to blow the whistle on such a scheme, and no evidence Yanukovich approved of the killings has ever emerged. CNN likewise filmed far-right elements firing at police from behind Maidan barricades, then hunting for positions to shoot from the 11th floor of the Hotel Ukraina, minutes before the BBC filmed snipers shooting protesters from a room where a far-right MP was staying. The network opted not to report this at the time. We needn’t rely purely on video footage. Over the course of the trial, no fewer than 14 self-confessed members of Maidan sniper groups testified they had explicitly received massacre orders, Katchanovski claims. By contrast, no police officer at the scene has said they were directed to kill unarmed protesters, no minister has come forward to blow the whistle on such a scheme, and no evidence Yanukovich approved of the killings has ever emerged. The United States, Britain and other major NATO members have said they would support Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the new leader of the military bloc, as the current secretary general prepares to end his ten-year term.
The White House threw its backing behind Rutte on Thursday, with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby telling reporters that Washington had already conveyed its stance to other member states. ”The United States has made it clear to our allies, our NATO allies, that we believe Mr. Rutte would be an excellent secretary general for NATO,” he said. Berlin has also declared support for Rutte, with the office of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz describing the outgoing PM as an “outstanding candidate” to take over from Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. ”Chancellor Scholz supports the nomination of Mark Rutte as the new Secretary General of NATO,” Scholz’s spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, wrote in a social media post. He praised Rutte’s “immense experience, his great security policy expertise and his strong diplomatic skills.” Britain adopted the same position. “The UK does strongly back Dutch PM Mark Rutter to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as NATO secretary general,” a government spokesperson said in a statement to the British media. A senior French official told Reuters that President Emmanuel Macron was an early backer of Rutte, and had discussed the matter with him last year. While unnamed diplomats told Reuters that 16 other NATO states also favoured Rutte for the role, his appointment would require a unanimous vote from the bloc’s 31 members. The Polish Foreign Ministry noted that Warsaw has not yet expressed support for any candidate, while officials in Hungary and Türkiye have not made their positions known. Berlin has also declared support for Rutte, with the office of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz describing the outgoing PM as an “outstanding candidate” to take over from Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. ”Chancellor Scholz supports the nomination of Mark Rutte as the new Secretary General of NATO,” Scholz’s spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, wrote in a social media post. He praised Rutte’s “immense experience, his great security policy expertise and his strong diplomatic skills.” Britain adopted the same position. “The UK does strongly back Dutch PM Mark Rutter to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as NATO secretary general,” a government spokesperson said in a statement to the British media. A senior French official told Reuters that President Emmanuel Macron was an early backer of Rutte, and had discussed the matter with him last year. While unnamed diplomats told Reuters that 16 other NATO states also favoured Rutte for the role, his appointment would require a unanimous vote from the bloc’s 31 members. The Polish Foreign Ministry noted that Warsaw has not yet expressed support for any candidate, while officials in Hungary and Türkiye have not made their positions known.
The Netherlands’ outgoing Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, has said that admitting Ukraine to NATO is not feasible while the conflict with Russia is ongoing.
Rutte has been described in the media as a frontrunner to become the next secretary-general of the US-led bloc. The politician made the comments at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday in response to a question about whether EU prime ministers would “personally support” Ukraine’s membership bid at the next NATO summit in Washington in July. “The bad news is – as long as the war is raging, Ukraine cannot become a member of NATO,” Rutte has said. “The good news is that we can learn from the European Union,” he added referring to the EU approach of implementing “intermediate steps” that countries take on “the way to accession” as opposed to NATO’s process that goes “from nothing to full membership.” Rutte admitted that the last time the question of Ukraine’s membership arose, Kiev was left “dissatisfied.” As a result, there is a need to “work carefully” to see “what next step is possible” so as not to “overpromise.” Ukraine applied to integrate with the NATO Membership Action Plan in 2008 and a decade later enshrined in its constitution membership in the US-led bloc as a strategic foreign policy goal. At last year’s NATO summit in Vilnius, the bloc’s leaders said that Ukraine’s “rightful place is in NATO,” but failed to provide clear commitments or describe a timeline. While the question of Ukraine’s membership is likely to be discussed at the next NATO summit in July, some Western politicians have warned against expecting a “big leap forward on that.” Russia views NATO expansion towards its border as a major security threat. President Vladimir Putin has argued that Western powers have used Ukraine to antagonize Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. In a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, Putin called the West’s approach to Ukraine a colossal political mistake, pointing to NATO’s 2008 promise to accept the country into the bloc, as well as the Western-supported coup in Kiev in 2014. Vladimir Putin reportedly ordered Yevgeny Prigozhin's demise last year — and he's now trying to do the same to his mercenary group.
Since Prigozhin's plane crashed last August, many have pondered the fate of the Wagner paramilitary organization without its leader. In the hours after Wagner's short-lived mutiny last June, the Kremlin began privately reassuring African and Middle Eastern governments that Russia would take full control of Prigozhin's global empire. Prigozhin crossed Africa in a frantic attempt to protect his global business empire, before his untimely demise. Six months after his death, experts say Wagner's days operating anywhere in the world could be numbered. Sergey Sukhankin, a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, said there is no doubt that the Wagner Group has become "marginalized" and "de facto" subordinated to Russia's defense ministry following Prighozhin's death. "The fighters will do what they are told" by the ministry, he told BI. Wagner is shrinking in Ukraine In the months since Prigozhin's death, intelligence reports have offered clues about the Kremlin's efforts to take over his organization, which had been a major player in the war in Ukraine and also operated elsewhere. Former Wagner fighters have been absorbed into Russia's national guard, also known as Rosgvardia, according to a report by the UK government this month. Three former Wagner assault detachments are being integrated into its first Volunteer Corps formation with the likely goal of deploying them to Ukraine and Africa, the UK said. Another update last week said Wagner's plan to establish a new headquarters near a Russian barracks is likely a sign of its subordination. And Russia's efforts aren't stopping there. Russia is taking over Wagner's mercenaries in Africa The military formation has been actively recruiting former Wagner Group mercenaries and soldiers who fought in Ukraine for combat operations in Africa. In a Telegram post last week, it promised an unspecified "high monetary" allowance, payments in foreign currency, service under "competent commanders" with extensive combat experience, and medical care and social benefits. Fighters joining the new group is likely a sign of diminishing allegiance to Prigozhin's paramilitary organization, according to Raphael Parens, a fellow in the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Eurasia Program and an international security researcher specializing in small armed groups. "Wagner fighters likely have little loyalty to the company itself after Prigozhin's demise and would be willing to fight for whichever Kremlin-backed organization that exists in Africa," Parens told BI. "These mercenaries care about the bottom line rather than an ideological alignment with Prigozhin," he said. The Kremlin is likely using the Africa Corps to take over many of the functions of the Wagner Group, Parens added. However, it's unclear how successful Russia's efforts will be: "Prigozhin relied heavily on personal connections and a variety of shell corporations, which may be difficult for a state government to control," he said. Instead of being another attempt by Russia to subordinate Wagner, Sukhankin said its recruitment of Wagner fighters is about "making the best of professional mercenaries familiar with the African environment." Ukraine and Western allies may be trying to stop Russia Alessandro Arduino, the author of "Money for Mayhem: Mercenaries, Private Military Companies, Drones, and the Future of War," said the Wagner Group could either fall under Russia's control or split into smaller, heavily armed groups serving local warlords. "Regardless, in Africa, the perception that Wagner or the new creation Africa Corp is protecting territorial integrity against militant forces is on the rise," he told BI. Last week, in a video obtained by the Kyiv Post, Ukrainian special forces were shown interrogating captured Wagner mercenaries in Sudan. The undated video shows one soldier confessing to being part of a Wagner mercenary outfit sent to Sudan to overthrow the local government, per the outlet. According to Parens, the presence of Ukrainian special forces in Africa highlights that Ukraine is competing with Russia in a new area. "This signals the Ukrainian government's willingness to fight and defeat Russian forces via attrition regardless of their location," he said. Sukhankin suggested that the operation may be part of "some sort of tacit agreement" between Western allies and Ukraine to battle Russian mercenaries in Africa in exchange for certain military backing for Ukraine in its war against Russia. "Ukrainian special services have acquired considerable experience of waging non-linear warfare against the Russian side and especially against the Wagner Group," he said. "This is something the West does not have." In Sukhankin's view, this makes Ukrainians "the best option — both in terms of effectiveness/efficiency and cost-benefit basis — in confronting Russian mercenaries in Africa." The fate of the Wagner Group, it seems, still hangs in the balance. The jailed blogger lost consciousness after going for a walk, and resuscitation efforts failed, authorities have said.
The Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny has died in jail in central Russia after falling ill during a walk, local authorities have said, adding that an investigation into the exact cause of his death was ongoing. The Kremlin says President Putin has been informed and that it has no information about the cause of death. The prison claimed in an initial statement that Navalny became unwell while out for a walk. At the end of December, Navalny was transferred to the IK-3 penal colony in the far north of Russia, on the edge of the Arctic Circle. The opposition leader had been missing for weeks in the days before. Strong criticism of Putin. Navalny was one of President Putin's best-known opponents. The opposition leader was arrested at Sheremetyevo Airport near Moscow in January 2021. A few months earlier he was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok and received treatment in Germany. He served a years-long prison sentence. A Russian court had convicted him of what was called "creating an extremist movement". With his anti-corruption foundation, Navalny has exposed abuses since 2011, such as the construction of a billion-dollar palace on the Black Sea that is said to be owned by President Putin. Hours after his death was reported, Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, made a dramatic appearance at a security conference in Germany where many world leaders had gathered, and said she had considered canceling her appearance. “But then I thought what Alexei would do in my place. And I’m sure he would be here,” she said, adding she was unsure if she could believe the news from official Russian sources. “But if this is true, I want Putin and everyone around Putin, Putin’s friends, his government to know that they will bear responsibility for what they did to our country, to my family and to my husband. And this day will come very soon.” Praise for Navalny’s bravery poured in from Western leaders and others opposing Putin. Navalny’s health has deteriorated recently and the cause of death may never be known, but many of them said they held Russian authorities ultimately responsible for his death — particularly after the deaths of many Kremlin opponents. Eighteen NATO member states plan to meet the alliance’s target of spending the equivalent of 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence in 2024, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. Speaking in Brussels before a meeting of defence officials from NATO’s 31 members on Wednesday, Stoltenberg noted that the number of states meeting the threshold has risen rapidly amid Russia’s seizure of Ukrainian territory and ultimately its full-scale invasion in 2022. Concern that the return of former United States President Donald Trump to the White House has also encouraged a rise in spending. “That is another record number and a sixfold increase from 2014 when only three allies met the target,” Stoltenberg said at a news conference. Stating that US partners in NATO have raised spending by $600bn over the past decade, the alliance’s political chief also warned that Trump was undermining their security by calling into question Washington’s commitment to its allies. Trump has long complained over the spending levels of NATO states. Over the weekend, the likely Republican candidate in November’s US election called into question the country’s willingness to support “delinquent” members of the alliance if they were attacked by Russia. “We should leave no room for miscalculation or misunderstanding in Moscow, about our readiness and our commitment, our resolve to protect allies,” Stoltenberg said. “NATO has the capabilities, we have the resolve to protect and defend all allies,” he continued. “We don’t see any imminent threat against any NATO ally.” Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz also criticised Trump’s comments. His Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said the Republican hopeful risked damaging transatlantic relations and could “ultimately saw off the branch on which America is sitting”. The government in Berlin has boosted defence spending since 2022 and is allocating the equivalent of 71.8 billion euros ($76.8bn) on defence this year through regular and special budget outlays. The total defence spending sum is classified. That will see Germany meet the 2 percent of GDP target for the first time since the end of the Cold War.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of grossly misrepresenting the situation in Ukraine, claiming he told an “absurd story” about the origin of the conflict during his sit-down with Tucker Carlson.
Speaking during a visit to Washington, DC on Friday, Scholz weighed in on Putin’s recent interview with the former Fox host, arguing it only “mocks what real actions have been done by Russia in Ukraine” and presented a “completely absurd story about the cause of this war.” “There is a very clear cause, that is the desire of the president of Russia to annex part of Ukraine. And all the stories that are told about it do not change the fact that that is exactly the purpose of his imperialist efforts,” the chancellor added. Scholz went on to say that the fighting could “end at any time,” but not “by Ukraine capitulating,” and that “conditions for a peaceful solution” must be created as soon as possible.German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of grossly misrepresenting the situation in Ukraine, claiming he told an “absurd story” about the origin of the conflict during his sit-down with Tucker Carlson. Speaking during a visit to Washington, DC on Friday, Scholz weighed in on Putin’s recent interview with the former Fox host, arguing it only “mocks what real actions have been done by Russia in Ukraine” and presented a “completely absurd story about the cause of this war.” “There is a very clear cause, that is the desire of the president of Russia to annex part of Ukraine. And all the stories that are told about it do not change the fact that that is exactly the purpose of his imperialist efforts,” the chancellor added. Scholz went on to say that the fighting could “end at any time,” but not “by Ukraine capitulating,” and that “conditions for a peaceful solution” must be created as soon as possible. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that defeating Russia in Ukraine is “impossible by definition”, but insisted he does not seek to expand the war to neighbouring countries such as Poland and Latvia.
In a high-profile interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Putin repeated his claim that invading Ukraine was necessary to stop the country from threatening Russia by joining NATO, denied that he had territorial ambitions across Europe, and insisted he would only send troops into neighbouring countries if attacked first. Russian President Vladimir Putin has defended his war in Ukraine in a two-hour interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that defeating Russia in Ukraine is “impossible by definition”, but insisted he does not seek to expand the war to neighbouring countries such as Poland and Latvia. In a high-profile interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Putin repeated his claim that invading Ukraine was necessary to stop the country from threatening Russia by joining NATO, denied that he had territorial ambitions across Europe, and insisted he would only send troops into neighbouring countries if attacked first. It is absolutely out of the question. You just don’t have to be any kind of analyst, it goes against common sense to get involved in some kind of a global war,” Putin said in the interview posted on social media and Carlson’s personal website on Thursday. “And a global war will bring all of humanity to the brink of devastation. It’s obvious.” During a two-hour interview that saw Putin talk at length about the history of Eastern Europe and Russia, the Russian leader said that his government was in contact with the United States and that a peaceful resolution to the war would only be possible if Washington stopped supplying weapons to Ukraine. “I will tell you what we are saying on this matter and what we are conveying to the US leadership,” Putin said. “If you really want to stop fighting, you need to stop supplying weapons. It will be over within a few weeks, that’s it, and then we can agree on some terms. Before you do that, stop.” Putin said he has “never refused” to negotiate peace with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but Moscow has not yet achieved its goals in Ukraine, including “de-Nazification”, referring to his claim that Kyiv is committing genocide against ethnic Russians. Asked by Carlson whether he would be willing to release imprisoned Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich as a “sign of your decency”, the Russian leader said a deal is possible and there is “no taboo” on resolving the issue. “We have done so many gestures of goodwill out of decency that I think we have run out of them. No, we have never seen anyone reciprocate to us in a similar manner. However, in theory, we can say that we do not rule out that we can do that if our partners take reciprocal steps,” Putin said. Gershkovich has been detained in Russia since March 2023 on spying charges that Washington has described as “baseless”. The Kremlin said Putin agreed to sit down with Carlson because he presented a less one-sided view of the war in Ukraine. Carlson has repeatedly questioned the rationale for US support for Kyiv, and in a video posted on social media this week, he criticised US media outlets for their “fawning” coverage of Zelenskyy. After his interview with Putin aired, Carlson said in a video posted on his website that anyone who believed Putin would give up Crimea for peace is a “lunatic” and “they want a weak leadership in Russia”. Before the interview, Carlson attracted criticism for travelling to Moscow to interview the Russian leader, with former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accusing the former TV host of being a “useful idiot”. Russia’s presidential hopeful Boris Nadezhdin has said his bid to run in elections in March has been blocked, and that he will challenge the decision of the election commission in the country’s highest court.
Nadezhdin, a prominent critic of the war in Ukraine, is intent on unseating incumbent Vladimir Putin. But his bid was stymied by the Central Election Commission (CEC), which refused to register him as a candidate, he said on Thursday on Telegram, adding that he would launch an appeal in the country’s Supreme Court.Running on the ticket of the small centre-right Civic Initiative party, Nadezhdin last month submitted the 100,000 signatures required to register as a candidate for the election to be held on March 15-17. However, the CEC had informed Nadezhdin on Monday that it had found flaws in 15 percent of signatures he had collected in support of his candidacy, and that some of the purported signatures were those of dead people. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that the decision by election officials was in line with the rules. “I collected more than 200,000 signatures across Russia. We conducted the collection openly and honestly – the queues at our headquarters and collection points were watched by the whole world,” Nadezhdin said. “Taking part in the presidential election in 2024 is the most important political decision of my life. I am not giving up on my intentions.”Nadezhdin, a 60-year-old municipal councillor who is known for his criticism of Putin, had caught the attention of Russia’s small opposition forces with promises to end the war in Ukraine. Born in Soviet-ruled Uzbekistan to a Jewish mother who was a music teacher and a physicist father – he has spent the last 30 years in Russian politics, working as a councillor in the town of Dolgoprudny outside Moscow. He says Putin, 71, made a “fatal mistake” by launching the invasion and has pledged to end it via negotiation. It was already thought that authorities would not welcome a candidate who would introduce antiwar rhetoric in the race. Putin is almost certain to win re-election to extend his 24-year leadership of Russia, including eight years as prime minister, for at least another six years. He has not allowed real electoral opposition during his rule, with rivals such as opposition leader Alexey Navalny behind bars. Putin will be running as an independent, rather than as the candidate of the governing United Russia party, meaning he needs 300,000 signatures to support his candidacy. He has already collected more than 3.5 million, according to his supporters. Conservative American journalist Tucker Carlson has said on Instagram that his interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin will be aired at 6pm EST on Thursday.
Carlson, who launched his own network on X (formerly Twitter) in June 2023, traveled to Moscow for a sit-down with Putin. The Kremlin confirmed the meeting on Tuesday. The Russian president rarely grants one-on-one interviews to foreign press. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that Putin has “no desire” to speak to Western media outlets that have “completely one-sided” opinions and “aren’t even trying to be impartial.” Carlson said he wanted to talk to the Russian leader because many Western news outlets “lie to their readers and viewers” and are biased in their coverage of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. “That’s wrong. Americans have the right to know all they can about a war they are implicated in,” he said in a video on X on Tuesday. Carlson has been criticized by some politicians and media figures at home and abroad who say his interview with Putin will only amplify Russian “propaganda.” “He parrots Vladimir Putin’s pack of lies about Ukraine,” former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told MSNBC. Newsweek quoted one former and two current members of the European Parliament as saying that Carlson could be banned from visiting the EU for providing “a platform” for Putin. Anyone calling for the arrest of US journalist Tucker Carlson over his plan to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin should themselves be detained, billionaire Elon Musk has suggested. Carlson arrived in Moscow last weekend, saying he intended to show Americans an unfiltered Russian position on the Ukraine conflict and the broader tensions between Moscow and the West. The former Fox News host accused the mainstream media of failing to provide the full picture due to political reasons, and said Musk had promised not to suppress the distribution on X (formerly Twitter) of his planned interview with Putin. There has been speculation about the potential risks to Carlson in his homeland due to his trip to Russia. Malaysia-based conservative blogger Ian Miles Cheong has suggested that he “could become the next Julian Assange,” noting that “politicians and establishment media shills” have been calling for Carlson’s arrest. “Arrest those calling for his arrest!” Musk responded in a post on X. WikiLeaks founder Assange is currently in a British prison, fighting a US extradition request. Washington has indicted him with crimes related to the way whistleblower Chelsea Manning obtained classified materials on the US military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, some of which were damning for the American government. Supporters say Assange, who has not had full freedom since 2012, is being persecuted by the US and its allies for exposing their dirty secrets. He was jailed in 2019 after Ecuador revoked the political asylum that had allowed him to stay at the country’s embassy in London, enabling British law enforcement to arrest him. Some public figures in the US have accused Carlson of harboring sympathies for Putin, and of intending to spread “Russian propaganda” by interviewing him. Even before the goal of Carlson’s visit to Moscow was confirmed, neoconservative writer Bill Kristol urged the US government to prevent the journalist from returning home, “until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” Carlson has insisted that he does not like the Russian leader, but said it is important for the American public to hear Putin’s views on the Ukraine conflict and the tensions between Moscow and Washington, considering what’s at stake. He also accused the American government of trying to prevent him from interviewing Putin, a notion that White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dismissed as “ridiculous.” American journalist Tucker Carlson has spent several days in Russia and even attended a ballet performance at the Bolshoi Theatre, Telegram channel Mash reported on Saturday, sharing several photos of the conservative commentator. Carlson allegedly touched down at Vnukovo airport on a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul on Thursday after several hours’ delay, according to the channel. He was later spotted taking in the ballet Spartacus at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. The conservative commentator has yet to confirm the trip and it remains unclear what business he had in Russia. However, rumors of his intention to interview President Vladimir Putin have been circulating since last year.
Despite dominating prime-time ratings for years, Carlson was fired from Fox News in April for reasons that have never been made public. He subsequently launched his own talk show streaming on X (formerly Twitter). While Carlson has been repeatedly demonized by the US media establishment as a “useful idiot” for Moscow – if not a Russian agent entirely – due to his skepticism regarding Washington’s foreign policy and particularly the conflict in Ukraine, the journalist has never previously visited Russia or worked with Russian media organizations.
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