The EU is said to be gearing up to slap sanctions on Tucker Carlson as a result of his upcoming interview with Vladimir Putin.
The television presenter visited Russia this week, yesterday saying he will "soon" be broadcasting his interview with the Russian President.
Member of the European Parliament Guy Verhofstadt suggested that the EU's External Action Service (EAS) - the bloc's diplomatic arm - could consider sanctioning Carlson.
Dubbing Carlson a "mouthpiece" for former President Donald Trump, he added when speaking to Newsweek: "As Putin is a war criminal and the EU sanctions all who assist him in that effort, it seems logical that the External Action Service examine his case as well."
The EU is said to be gearing up to slap sanctions on Tucker Carlson as a result of his upcoming interview with Vladimir Putin
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But former Conservative Party deputy chairman and GB News Presenter Lee Anderson said "EU bosses should want to know" what Putin has to say, demanding the Kremlin leader be "held to account".
He told GB News: "I am interested to see what Putin has to say. I have seen first-hand the misery he has caused by families having to be evacuated to our country just to stay alive.
"Thousands of innocent people have been killed and thousands of his own soldiers have died in a pointless war. Putin needs to be held to account and the world deserves to know what he is thinking.
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"We all deserve to know and the EU bosses should want to know as well and hopefully one day this awful war will end, Putin will be arrested and Ukraine can once again become a peaceful independent country."
Former MEP Luis Garicano threw his weight behind Verhofstadt's position, saying: "He is no longer a newsman, but a propagandist for the most heinous regime on European soil and the one which is most dangerous to our peace and security."
MEP Urmas Paet added: "First of all, it should be remembered that Putin is not just a president of an aggressor country, but he is wanted by the International Criminal Court and accused of genocide and war crimes."
In a video statement published yesterday, Carlson said: "Most Americans have no idea why Putin invaded Ukraine or what his goals are now."
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He added: "Carlson wants to give a platform to someone accused of crimes of genocide—this is wrong. If Putin has something to say he needs to say it in front of the ICC."
Paet added: "So, for such propaganda for a criminal regime, you can end up on the list of sanctions. This concerns primarily travel ban to EU countries."
In a video statement published yesterday, Carlson said: "Most Americans have no idea why Putin invaded Ukraine or what his goals are now.
"We are not here because we love Vladimir Putin...We are not encouraging you to agree with what Putin may say in this interview, but we are urging you to watch it. You should know as much as you can."
He acknowledged that there are "risks to doing any interview like this", saying he "thought about it carefully over many months".
