Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a more than two-hour interview to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that was released online Thursday, covering a variety of topics, from Ukraine to the Russian economy, but breaking little new ground.

Putin told Carlson that Russia has not achieved its war aims in its widely condemned invasion of neighboring Ukraine, and he began the interview with a roughly 20-minute-long, mostly uninterrupted, speech about history that included the days of Catherine the Great, the empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796.

Carlson at one point flattered Putin and said it was not boring but added, “I just don’t know how it’s relevant.”

NBC News has not been provided any details about the circumstances under which the interview was recorded. Putin spoke in Russian, and the translation was provided by Carlson’s show.