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Putin phones Elton (for real this time)

MOSCOW — Elton John got the last laugh Thursday after Vladimir Putin called and suggested a meeting — a week after the singer was fooled by pranksters posing as the Russian president.

“Putin phoned him,” Dmitry Peskov, the Russian leader’s spokesman, confirmed.

Peskov said Putin told the British pop star, “I know some guys played a trick on you on the phone, but don’t get offended. They are harmless people, though that, of course, does not justify what they did.”

There was no immediate reaction from John, a gayrights activist who has been angling to meet Putin to discuss Russia’s homophobic policies.

“Putin also said that he understands how popular Elton John is, so if their schedules permit, he will be willing to meet him in the future and discuss any issues that he is concerned about,” Peskov added.

After John posted a message on Instagram last week thanking Putin for calling him, Rus sian comedians Vladimir “Vovan” Krasnov and Alexei “Lexus” Stolyarov admitted they had actually made the call.

They aired a recording of the conversation on Russian TV.

A couple of days later, John acknowledged he had been duped and said he still hoped to meet Putin.

“Pranks are funny. Homophobia, however, is never funny,” he wrote on Instagram.

Gary Farrow, spokesman for John in London, declined to comment.

Earlier this month, John decried Russia’s ban on “homosexual propaganda” and criticized comments by Putin suggesting gay people prey on children. Putin has defended the law. Last year, he said John was “an extraordinary person.”

Putin, meanwhile, is slated to meet President Obama Monday in their first facetoface encounter in nearly a year.

The Russian leader will be in Manhattan Monday to deliver a speech to the UN General Assembly.