MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. It’s not the emotional reaction of Western leaders to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson that matters most, but rather that they watched it at all, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Well, they have had every chance to acquaint themselves with the position of Russian President [Vladimir] Putin, and this time around, they were given the full opportunity. As far as I understand, they used it - and that is the most important thing," Peskov said, when asked to comment on the reaction of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to the sit-down.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the Russian news outlet kp.ru that "Scholz disobeyed US instructions not to watch the interview." Commenting on Sunak’s reaction, the Russian diplomat ripped British premiers of the past few years as "gutless people."

Carlson released his two-hour long interview with Putin early on February 9. The Russian president mostly commented on the conflict in Ukraine and Russia’s relations with the US, NATO and the West in general. The journalist himself said earlier that his attempt to interview Putin last year was thwarted by the US government.