Putin Spotted Using Hand To Put Leg in Place During Tucker Carlson Interview

Russian President Vladimir Putin was spotted using his hand to put his leg in place during his interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in Moscow.

Some took to social media to highlight a moment where Putin is seen adjusting his fidgeting leg during the interview after it was released on Thursday night.

"It's strange and he appears to be too aware, too conscious of himself," one person wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Another person wrote: "One of Putin's legs is out of control. What's going on?"

Russia's President Vladimir Putin gives an interview
Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen during an interview with Tucker Carlson at the Kremlin in Moscow on February 6, 2024. Putin was spotted using his hand to put his leg in place during the... Gavriil Grigorov/Pool-AFP via Getty Images

A different commenter said: "Putin had to touch his leg to calm it down to stop it from moving."

And another person wrote: "Anyone noticed this about Putin's leg? He had to use his hand to [lower] the foot down? I'm not medical professional and my knowledge is very limited so I wonder what could be an explanation to this?"

Similar footage in the past have caused speculation about his health, including after he was seen constantly moving his legs and feet during a meeting with Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in February 2023.

Some reports have claimed that Putin has cancer, Parkinson's disease or both. The Kremlin has repeatedly stated that the Russian leader is in good health.

Putin's interview with Carlson was his first with a Western media figure since he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost two years ago.

Asked if he thought Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky still "has the freedom to negotiate a settlement to this conflict," Putin answered that he believes so.

He then claimed that after Russian negotiators attempted to reach a peace deal with Ukraine during the early stages of the war, Western countries persuaded Zelensky to keep fighting.

Putin then said Zelensky had refused to conduct talks with the Kremlin.

"But how are we going to negotiate if he forbade himself and everyone to do this?" he said. "We know that he is putting forward some ideas about this settlement, but in order to agree on something, we need to have a dialogue."

Putin stayed away from endorsing any candidate in the 2024 U.S. election. However, he said he doesn't remember the last time he spoke with President Joe Biden, and that he had a good relationship with former President Donald Trump when he was in the White House.

Update 2/9/24, 3:55 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

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Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on abortion rights, race, education, ... Read more

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