Russian
President Vladimir Putin has made a telephone call to gay pop star Sir Elton
John and agreed to meet him. The renowned British singer was tricked last week
by pranksters impersonating the Russian strongman.
Deutsche Welle, 24 Sep 2015
"Putin … had a talk with Elton John," confirmed Dmitry Peskov, the Russian president's spokesman, on Thursday.
Singer Elton John performs at the Rock In Rio Music Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sept. 20, 2015 |
"Putin … had a talk with Elton John," confirmed Dmitry Peskov, the Russian president's spokesman, on Thursday.
According
to Peskov, Putin told John not to be enraged by two pranksters who tricked him last week into believing that the Russian head of state had called.
"Putin
called and said 'I know that some guys played a phone prank on you. Don't get
offended at them, they're harmless, but of course that doesn't excuse
them,'" Peskov was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti state news agency.
Elton John
did not immediately confirm the phone call on his Instagram account, where he
announced the call from Putin last week, which later turned out to be a hoax.
Last week, the British singer wrote on Instagram that Putin had phoned to request a meeting |
But the
Kremlin immediately denied this: "I am telling you with full authority
that President Putin has not talked to Sir Elton John," Peskov said last
week.
Peskov did
not say whether Putin agreed on discussing the same topic in his real call with
the legendary musician.
"Putin
said he knows what a popular performer Elton John is, and if their schedules
match in the future, he is ready to meet and discuss any questions that
interest him," said the spokesman.
In 2013,
Russia banned the "promotion" of homosexuality in front of minors.
The country has also banned marriage equality, and officials refer to rights efforts as "propaganda." Just this summer, Russia began denying
driver's licenses to transgender people, and calls to ban the international
LGBT rainbow flag have followed the arrests of marchers in a spring Pride
parade.
John, who
has two adopted children with his husband, the Canadian filmmaker David
Furnish, said he hoped to use his influence to promote tolerance. He performed
in the former Soviet Union in 1979 and still regularly graces stages in Russia.
shs/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters)
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