The Kremlin is denying a claim made by Sir Elton John that Russian President Vladimir Putin phoned the Rocket Man after he slammed Russia's record on LGBT rights.
John posted about the alleged call on Instagram, posting a picture of Putin and writing,
“Thank-you to President Vladimir Putin for reaching out and speaking via telephone with me today. I look to forward to meeting with you face-to-face to discuss LGBT equality in Russia. @president_vladimir_putin @ejaf#lgbt #lgbtrights #ShareTheLove.”
Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin was unsure how “authentic” a social media post from the star was in which he thanked the Russian leader for “reaching out and speaking via telephone with me today”. […]
“I don't doubt that if there is such a request, the president will be ready to meet with Elton John among others to give answers to all the questions that he might ask,” he told journalists. “But we haven't received such signals yet.”
A spokesperson for the Elton John Aids Foundation had not responded to requests for comment.
As we reported earlier, anti-gay lawmaker Vitaly Milonov, who was recently awarded a state honor medal for his role in advancing anti-gay legislation, remarked that John shouldn't distract Putin with “rainbow affairs”, instead offering to meet with the singer to discuss how he is “deeply and systematically mistaken”.
