President Putin has insisted that Russia has no interest in invading Poland, Latvia, or other NATO countries, calling such a scenario absolutely out of the question. The comments came during a lengthy interview that was conducted in the Kremlin with former Fox News host, Tucker Carlson. Now, the interview was broadcast on the Tucker Carlson Network. Mr. Putin accused NATO member states of trying to intimidate people with what he called an imaginary Russian threat. He said, however, that the Atlantic Alliance must accept Moscow's territorial gains in Ukraine, which he invaded back in 2022. He again claimed it was an artificial country. He also said that the Russian defeat in Ukraine was impossible. On Evan Gershkovitch, the Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia, Mr. Putin said an agreement could be reached for his freeing. Well, here's the moment Vladimir Putin was asked by Tucker Carson, whether he'd invade a NATO country such as Poland. Can you imagine a scenario where you sent Russian troops to Poland?

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.

Well, let's take a look this a little bit more now and cross live now to BBC Monitoring's Russia editor, Vitali Shevchenko. Vitali, I know you've taken a listen to that whole interview. We just heard a little bit there, but a lot of topics covered. Just talk us through what President Putin had to say?

Well, there are no earth-shattering revelations in his two-hour interview with Tucker Carlson. His remarks on the possibility or impossibility of Russia invading NATO countries, obviously, they come from somebody who had said in the past that he wasn't interested in invading Ukraine. Perhaps one of the most significant statements was about the possible release of Evan Gershkovitch, the US reporter jailed in Russia or detained in Russia on charges of spying. The Russian President hinted that he be exchanged for a Russian state security assassin currently in jail in Germany. Now, President Putin repeated his well-worn justifications of the invasion of Ukraine. He said that almost half of Ukraine belonged to Russia. Ukraine was invented by the Soviet Union. He spoke for about half an hour about ancient history, how Russia was established in the ninth century. But to give you an idea of his grasp of history, at one point, President Putin said he had spoken to President Zelensky in the past, President Zelensky of Ukraine, and he said, How can you support fascists? That's a quote. If your father, President Zelensky, had fought fascism fascists in the Second World War. But the fact is that Mr. Zelensky's father died two years after the war ended.

So President Putin's grasp of some historical facts was a bit infirm in that interview.

And this is the first time as well that the Russian leader has sat down with a Western journalist since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Why do you think the former Fox news host, Tucker Carlson, was chosen to conduct that interview? Also, it did take place in the Kremlin as well.

Well, first, possibly it was to break out of this self-imposed isolation and show audiences at home that it's possible to find a relatively sympathetic interviewer from the West. And with that in mind, it's also important to note what what President Putin didn't speak about or wasn't asked about. He said nothing about alleged atrocities committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, the targeting of civilian infrastructure Russia and Ukraine, for example, or the attacks on domestic opposition within Russia. There was nothing about that in Vladimir Putin's interview with Tucker Carlson.

Also, the Russian state media, they spent several days covering Tucker Carlson's visit. What were they saying? What was the reaction in Russia?

The general message, Frankie, was that there are sensible quote-unquote people, interviewers in the West, and in the Russian state media, they're normally portrayed as a David fighting the Goliath of the Western political establishment. This is probably a way for the Kremlin's media machine to demonstrate that there are political forces, there are media forces in the West, that the Kremlin is potentially prepared to work with, and therefore Vladimir Putin's Russia is not as isolated as its adversaries are saying.

Okay, really interesting to get your thoughts thoughts there. Bbc Monitoring's Russia Editor, Vitali Shevchenko, joining us here on BBC News.