German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has sharply criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin's interview with a right-wing US talk show host.
During a visit to the US capital on Friday, Scholz said that it was an interview "that honestly only mocks what real actions have been done by Russia in Ukraine and tells a completely absurd story about the cause of this war."
But "there is a very clear cause," Scholz stressed, namely the Kremlin leader's desire 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 German chancellor asserted.
Putin was interviewed in detail by a US journalist for the first time since he started the full-fledged war against Ukraine almost two years ago.
The 127-minute conversation with right-wing talk show host Tucker Carlson was recorded on Tuesday and aired on Thursday night.
Carlson, a television personality known for spreading false reports and conspiracy theories at his former employer Fox News, did not question Putin's long-winded remarks.
Critics had already identified this ahead of time as the reason why Putin may have granted the American an interview.
In the end, Carlson spoke directly to the Russian president about US journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was in custody in Russia, and asked whether there was a chance of his release.
Putin said he was willing to talk and hinted at the possibility of a prisoner exchange. "It makes no sense to keep him in prison in Russia," the Kremlin chief said. Rather, the US should think about how it could contribute to a solution.
Further statements by Putin could be interpreted as meaning a release of the Tiergarten murderer Vadim K., who was convicted in December 2021 of a murder in a Berlin park.
The Russian is serving a life sentence in the August 2019 killing of a Georgian national in the park. A German court found that Russia ordered the murder.
Scholz was asked in Washington whether such an exchange would be conceivable for him, but the chancellor was tight-lipped.
Such "delicate questions" should be treated confidentially and not in front of the press, he said.
Scholz is in Washington for a short visit and will meet with President Joe Biden on Friday.
