{"id":321440,"date":"2024-12-06T14:56:35","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T12:56:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/?p=321440"},"modified":"2024-12-06T14:56:39","modified_gmt":"2024-12-06T12:56:39","slug":"tucker-carlson-in-moscow-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/tucker-carlson-in-moscow-again","title":{"rendered":"Tucker Carlson in Moscow…Again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Written by Matt Wickham<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tucker Carlson in his teaser trailer, released on December 3, reveals that he is back in Moscow, cosying up, once again, to top Kremlin officials to interview Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister since 2004, a staple of Kremlin propaganda. His goal? Much the same as the previous try, to deliver Kremlin narratives directly to his Kremlin-appeasing audience\u2014Trump supporters who are eager to believe that a Trump presidency will de-escalate the current war and stabilise relations with the US\u2019s historic number one enemy by giving the Kremlin everything it wants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carlson\u2019s previous Moscow visit provided Putin with a two-hour platform to rewrite history\u2014uninterrupted and unchallenged. Putin\u2019s narrative was presented by Carlson as indisputable truth, with a clear message: Ukrainian officials, the current U.S. administration, Intelligence agencies, and historians\u2014have got it all are wrong, Russia is the victim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, 10 months after his first trip to the Kremlin, Carlson is back for round two, ready to amplify more distortions and feed them to an audience eager to \u201ceat them up\u201d. But in truth, instead of holding the Kremlin accountable, he is only assisting a regime hellbent on destroying the current world order and status quo that Americans say they long to maintain. Just as Walter Duranty did for the Soviet regime back in the 1930s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Propaganda: <\/strong>The Biden administration has pushed the United States and Russia to the brink of nuclear conflict, with no diplomatic channels remaining between the two nations – \u201cBlinken cut off all contact with Russia and the US government. There is no back channel\u201d<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Counter: <\/strong>Carlson\u2019s claim that there are no diplomatic or \u201cback channels\u201d between the U.S. and Russia is clear cherry-picking manipulation. While relations are undeniably strained, they are far from nonexistent. Both countries maintain fully operational embassies, and even though Secretary of State Blinken has not engaged directly with Lavrov, other key communication lines remain intact. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov in July 2024, and spy chiefs CIA Director Bill Burns and SVR Chief Sergei Naryshkin have held multiple official conversations throughout the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, despite Kremlin manipulation, nuclear deconfliction lines\u2014or \u201chotlines\u201d\u2014appear to remain active (as they have been reported to be at times throughout the war). However, in a recent interview, Kremlin Press Secretary Peskov denied their use. Peskov\u2019s comments leave room for interpretation and manipulation, a Kremlin favourite in terms of informational ambiguity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even so, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed in this very interview the existence of a communication \u201cchannel\u201d that was recently used before the ballistic missile launch of the “Oreshnik.” Russia informed the U.S. 30 minutes in advance of the launch to ensure the US didn’t interpretation the “test” as something more sinister. Therefore demonstrating that some form of operational communication remains in place\u2014contradicting Carlson\u2019s manipulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Propaganda: <\/strong>Carlson claimed he\u2019s been trying to interview Zelensky but that the Ukrainian president is \u201cbanned\u201d by the US from speaking with him<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Counter: <\/strong>Carlson\u2019s claim that Zelensky is \u201cbanned\u201d by the U.S. embassy in Kyiv from giving him an interview echoes the tired Russian narrative that Ukraine is merely a U.S. puppet, lacking agency or independence. This line fits neatly into the Kremlin\u2019s broader effort to portray Ukraine as a threat to Russia’s security\u2014one that supposedly exists because the U.S. is \u201cright on Russia\u2019s doorstep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, Zelensky has shown a willingness to engage with almost any Western media outlet. In fact, a willingness to speak to the West far more than the Ukrainian people has actually caused significant annoyance among Ukrainians. And that willingness shown by Zelensky is open to even those with pro-Kremlin leanings, to set the record straight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carlson, however, has shown no genuine interest in engaging with the Ukrainian president with the same openness and depth as he has with the Kremlin\u2019s leadership. If Carlson truly cared about Ukraine\u2019s perspective, he could have arranged an interview with Zelensky or another pro-Ukrainian figure long ago. The full-scale war has been raging for nearly three years\u2014why, all of a sudden, does Carlson show interest in speaking with Ukrainian officials now? Or what about in the past decade since Russia\u2019s annexation of Ukrainian territories? Instead, he continues to parrot anti-Zelensky and anti-Ukraine rhetoric, which aligns with Moscow\u2019s messaging that Ukraine is just a vassal state of U.S. foreign policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, recent reports show that Zelensky has agreed to an interview with Lex Fridman, a prominent U.S. podcast host whose audience includes both Republican-leaning and Kremlin-critical listeners\u2014audiences much like Carlson\u2019s. Zelensky has also expressed interest in speaking with Joe Rogan, although Rogan has, thus far, refused to extend an invitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carlson, who many suspect might be in line for some hefty Kremlin payouts\u2014after all, what other American journalist has enjoyed such unlimited access to the Kremlin\u2019s upper echelons over the past three years?\u2014remains tied to pro-Kremlin narratives, vilifying Zelensky while continuing to blame the West for the war that Putin started, continues, and will likely escalate further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Propaganda: <\/strong>\u201cReturning Russia to the West” and if Trump\u2019s presidency could end the war<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Counter: <\/strong>The prospect of “returning Russia to the West” as discussed in the interview or Trump miraculously ending the war is pure fantasy\u2014naive, strategically flawed, and morally untenable. Such questions, like this one posed to Lavrov, feed directly into Kremlin propaganda, implying that the West controls the path to peace while ignoring the harsh reality that only Putin can end this war. Putin has shown no interest in peace, and his recent actions indicate a willingness to escalate not negotiate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kremlin’s imperialistic ambitions remain intact, regardless of how appealing potential concessions from a future Trump administration might seem. Trump’s vague promises to “end the war” rely on concessions that would strip Ukraine of its sovereignty\u2014lifting sanctions, legitimising annexation of Ukrainian territory, giving Putin more than he probably thought possible. Framing the issue this way, as does Carlson, is a gift to the Kremlin, diverting blame from Russia\u2019s aggression and placing it squarely on Western leaders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Matt Wickham Tucker Carlson in his teaser trailer, released on December 3, reveals that he is back in Moscow, cosying up, once again, to top Kremlin officials to interview Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister since 2004, a staple of Kremlin propaganda. His goal? Much the same as the previous try, to deliver Kremlin […] More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":321441,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[700],"tags":[1248,34664],"section":[726],"form":[31943],"yoast_head":"\nTucker Carlson in Moscow...Again | UACRISIS.ORG<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Written by Matt Wickham Tucker Carlson in his teaser trailer, released on December 3, reveals that he is back in Moscow, cosying up, once again, to top | Uacrisis.org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/tucker-carlson-in-moscow-again\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tucker Carlson in Moscow...Again | UACRISIS.ORG\" 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