Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host, said Russia is “doing very well” during a visit to Moscow but remained coy about whether he will interview Vladimir Putin.

In a video captured during his visit, Mr Carlson said he wanted to “talk to people, look around, and see how it’s doing… and it’s doing very well.”

When asked if he would interview Mr Putin, he replied: “We’ll see.”

Mr Carlson said in late September 2023 that he had attempted to interview the Russian leader, but that the US government had blocked the move. 

“I tried to interview Vladimir Putin, and the US government stopped me,” Mr Carlson told Swiss magazine, Die Weltwoche.

The Kremlin, asked the same question, said it could hardly be expected to comment on the comings and goings of foreign journalists or provide a running commentary on them.

Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman said: “Many foreign journalists come to Russia every day, many continue to work here, and we welcome this. We have nothing to announce in terms of the president’s interviews to foreign media.”

Mr Carlson has regularly sparked controversy for inflammatory statements about race and LGBTQ rights, and faced backlash when describing footage from the Jan 6 assault on the Capitol as “mostly peaceful chaos.” He was fired from Fox News last year.