Putin, Elton John at odds over telephone call
LONDON— Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, and pop star Elton John spoke in a phone conversation that the singer said had been initiated by the Kremlin.
“Thank you to President Vladimir Putin for reaching out and speaking via telephone with me today,” John wrote in an Instagram post on Monday afternoon that went largely unnoticed for a day. “I look to forward to meeting with you face-to-face to discuss LGBT equality in Russia.”
Putin’s press secretary, Dmitri S. Peskov, said late Tuesday that Putin had never spoken to John.
“This does not correspond to reality. There was no conversation,” Peskov told journalists.
He also said his office could not be sure the Instagram post was actually Elton John’s. But, he said, Putin was open to discussion about everything and he that he did not doubt the president would be willing to speak with the singer.