We are now three-quarters through the interview and it feels like the invasion of Ukraine is the elephant in the room rather than the topic of discussion.

Putin is giving his opinion on former presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump (he got on well with him) and how the US elects presidents (he says he doesn’t understand it).

When we finally get questions about the invasion of Ukraine, Carlson focuses on the role of the US, especially its support of Ukraine joining NATO.

“Do you think that was an effort to provoke you into military action?” Carlson asks.

“I repeat once again, we have repeatedly proposed to seek a solution to the problems that arose in Ukraine after the 2014 coup d’etat through peaceful means,” Putin says.

In 2014 the Ukrainian president was ousted amid the Russian annexation of Crimea, igniting the tensions preceding the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Putin says he was never refused negotiations.

Talking about former UK prime minister Boris Johnson, Putin says he had a “pure heart” but “not a great mind”.

He also says Johnson urged Ukraine not to sign a peace deal with Russia. “And it’s very sad to me because... we could have stopped those hostilities with war a year and a half ago already.”

So far, we’ve heard no questions about Russia’s military tactics or the significant loss of life since the invasion.