Vladimir Putin quizzed about imprisoned US reporter during interview with Tucker Carlson

Vladimir Putin has said he does “not rule out in theory” that US journalist Evan Gershkovich “may return to his motherland” in a rare interview with US television host Tucker Carlson.

The Russian president also claimed during the 127-minute interview that he had no interest in invading “Poland, Latvia or anywhere else”.

Towards the end of the exchange, Mr Carlson asked Mr Putin whether he would be “willing to release him [Gershokovich] to us and we’ll bring him back to the United States”.

The 32-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter was charged with espionage in April last year, which he denies. In January Russia extended his pre-trial detention until the end of March.

Mr Putin told Mr Carlson: “We have done so many gestures of goodwill out of decency that I think we have run out of them. 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.”

However the Russian president also insisted that Mr Gershkovich had been caught “red-handed” receiving classified information. The Wall Street Journal has denied any wrongdoing on behalf of its reporter.

“He was receiving classified confidential information, and he was doing it covertly,” the Russian president told Carlson.

But he also said: “There is no taboo to settle this issue. We are willing to solve it but there are certain terms being discussed via special services channels. I believe an agreement can be reached”.

“At the end of the day, it does not make any sense to keep him in prison in Russia.”

Mr Putin also claimed Moscow had no interest in invading “Poland, Latvia or anywhere else”.

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. Why would we do that? We simply don’t have any interest.”

The interview was conducted in Moscow on Tuesday and aired on Tucker Carlson’s website.

Putin spoke in Russian and his remarks were dubbed into English. He began by first removing his watch, and then gave a lengthy “history lesson” which focused on Russia’s relations with Ukraine, Poland, Hungary and other countries.

The Kremlin said Putin agreed to the Carlson interview because the approach of the former Fox News host differed from the “one-sided” reporting of the Ukraine conflict by many Western news outlets.

Carlson is considered to have close connections to former US President Donald Trump, who is expected to be the Republican Party candidate in the November presidential election.