Tucker Carlson posts first photo with Putin

The conservative reporter’s sit-down with the Russian president airs later on Thursday evening

American journalist Tucker Carlson has shared the first image from his highly-anticipated interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The full discussion airs on Thursday at 6pm EST on Carlson’s website.

In a post to his Instagram account on Thursday afternoon, Carlson shared an image, apparently taken in the Kremlin, of himself and Putin sitting on opposing chairs.

Carlson explained that he wanted to talk to the Russian leader because “Americans have the right to know all they can about a war they are implicated in,” he said, referring to the conflict in Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Tuesday that the interview had taken place, noting that Carlson’s stance on the conflict was neither pro-Russian nor pro-Ukrainian. Putin, Peskov said, had “no desire” to speak to Western media outlets that have “completely one-sided” opinions and “aren’t even trying to be impartial.”

Carlson has been condemned by pro-Ukrainian pundits and politicians for speaking to Putin, with former US Representative Adam Kinzinger branding him “a traitor” and neoconservative writer Bill Kristol urging American authorities to prevent him from returning home, “until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”

READ MORE: Tucker Carlson doesn’t need Russian protection – Kremlin

Carlson predicted that Western governments “will certainly do their best to censor” the interview because “they are afraid of information they can’t control.”

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Americans listening to the interview “shouldn’t take at face value anything” that Putin says.