Asking for permission to interview and getting it is not something "funny afoot". It's not like Tucker will be roaming the streets interviewing any dissents.

Putin has never really had the opportunity to speak to people in the West. The reason is because Western media refuses to because it's heavily censored and works hand in hand with authoritarian Western governments.

Whether Putin "tells the truth" in the interview is irrelevant. Putin says X, Biden & Zelensky says Y and both are lies with a sprinkling of truth, why limit yourself to one set of lies?

I see nothing weird or out of place with being granted an interview, but do with the mainstream narrative-following "no, don't listen to the other side!" undercurrent in your comment.