Vladimir Putin Interview: Five key takeaways

Russia's President has given his first interview to a western media outlet since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022. Vladimir Putin said the fighting in Ukraine can be "over in a few weeks" and insisted his country had no territorial ambitions in other European states.

Here are the main points of what was said.

Ukraine

With the conflict in Ukraine now in its second year, Putin stated it was "impossible" for Russian troops to leave the country, adding "sooner or later this will end in agreement". He went on to argue that the fighting could end quickly if the West stopped arming Kyiv. "If you really want to stop fighting, you need to stop supplying weapons", he said.

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Putin went on to single out former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson for blame, saying he had advised Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy not to sign a deal with Moscow in the early stages of the conflict. Peace talks were "almost finalized" Putin said, but then Ukraine "threw away all these agreements."

Speaking to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson who left the channel without an explanation from the broadcaster last year, Putin went on to make a direct warning to Washington if it deployed troops in Ukraine, saying "that would certainly bring humanity to the brink of a very serious global conflict."

Territorial Ambitions

When asked whether Russia had any ambitions to retake former Soviet states in Europe, Putin said his country had no interest in a wider conflict on the continent. Asked if he could imagine a scenario in which he would send Russian troops to Poland, a NATO member, Putin replied "Only in one case, if Poland attacks Russia. Why? Because we have no interest in Poland, Latvia or anywhere else."

NATO

While continuing to blame the conflict in Ukraine on the U.S. and its western allies, Putin nonetheless claimed that then U.S. President Bill Clinton told him that Russia may have an opportunity to join the NATO alliance. He claimed Clinton had described the idea as "interesting," but had later backtracked after discussions with advisers.

Putin also repeated previous claims that he had been assured NATO would not expand "not an inch to the east" paraphrasing a comment from former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker in February 1990,  "… and then what?" Putin said. "They said, 'Well, it's not enshrined on paper, so we'll expand.'"

Prisoner swaps

Putin indicated he was open to a possible prisoner swap involving U.S. national Evan Gershkovich. The Wall Street Journal reporter has been held in pre-trial detention in Russia for over a year, accused of espionage. Russia's President said he did not "rule out" a deal over Gershkovich, adding "It doesn't even make sense to keep him in prison in Russia."

But he also spoke of "certain conditions" regarding a man imprisoned in a U.S.-allied country for "liquidating a bandit." This appears to indicate Vadim Krasikov, a Russian national serving a life sentence in Germany for shooting dead former Chechen rebel leader Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin in 2019.

U.S. Elections

Putin, who is facing elections himself next month, declined to comment directly over the presidential race underway in the U.S. In reference to President Joe Biden, Putin said "I cannot remember when I talked to him," later adding that they had spoken before Russia's offensive on Ukraine began.

However Putin said he had what he called a "personal relationship" with Biden's predecessor Donald Trump, who is seeking re-election in November's poll. He also said he had also personally liked George W. Bush who he visited at his ranch in Texas in November 2002.

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