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Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, says defeating his country in the ongoing war with Ukraine is "impossible by definition".
Putin spoke during a two-hour interview with Tucker Carlson, former Fox News host, that was conducted in Moscow and aired on tuckercarlson.com on Thursday.
Putin spoke in Russian and his remarks were translated to English.
According to Putin, the West has acknowledged the impossibility of inflicting a "strategic defeat" on Russia and is unsure what to do next.
"Up until now, there has been the uproar and screaming about inflicting a strategic defeat to Russia on the battlefield. But now they are apparently coming to realise that it is difficult to achieve, if possible, at all," he said.
"In my opinion, it is impossible by definition. It is never going to happen. It seems to me that now those who are in power in the West have come to realise this as well."
The Russian leader added that the only peaceful resolution to the war, which is nearing its two-year mark, would be if the US 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 told Carlson.
"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 with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but insisted that Moscow has not yet achieved its goals in Ukraine, including "de-Nazification".
"We have never refused negotiations indeed. We hear all the time, is Russia ready? Yes," he said.
"We have not refused. It was them who publicly refused. Well, let him cancel his decree [not to negotiate with Russia] and enter into negotiations. We have never refused."
The Russian president also said he had "no interest" in attacking Poland or Latvia, saying he would only do so if either country were to attack Russia first.
THE JAILED REPORTER
Asked about Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter who has been in a Russian prison for almost a year, Putin said he would not "rule out" returning the journalist to the US, provided the US takes "reciprocal steps".
Russia had accused Gershkovich of being an American spy, but Washington said the allegations were "baseless".
This is Putin's first interview with an American journalist since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
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