Putin calls Elton John - this time for real, says Kremlin / The Guardian

Russian president suggests a meeting, a week after singer was on the end of prank call from someone pretending to be Putin

Source: The Guardian / Alec Luhn in Moscow

Vladimir Putin has called Sir Elton John and offered to meet after prank-callers impersonating the Russian president fooled the singer earlier this month.Putin spoke with John by phone on Thursday and asked forgiveness for the pair of famous Russian hoaxers who had previously called John in his name, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“Putin called him and said, ‘I know you were pranked by those telephone guys, don’t be offended by them, they’re harmless, but that of course doesn’t excuse them,” Peskov said. “And Putin said he knows how popular a performer Elton John is. If in the future their schedules allow, he’s ready to meet with him and discuss any questions that interest him.”

The tumultuous story of John and Putin began after the singer said in an Instagram post earlier this month that the president had called him and he looked forward to meeting Putin “face-to-face to discuss LGBT equality in Russia”. John was coming off a trip lobbying for LGBT rights in Ukraine, during which he told the BBC that he wanted to meet with Putin to talk about his “isolating and prejudiced” and “ridiculous” attitude towards gay people.

But last week Peskov denied that Putin had called the singer. That’s when Vladimir “Vovan” Krasnov and Alexei “Lexus” Stolyarov, a pair of hoaxers known for their prank calls to Russian and Ukrainian celebrities, admitted they had been the ones who phoned John. Krasnov said he had played Putin while Stolyarov pretended to be Peskov and interpret his co-conspirators words into English. A recording of the conversation was aired on a popular Russian late-night show.

In the 10-minute conversation, a heartfelt John complained to Krasnov-as-Putin about violence toward LGBT people in Russia and said it would be a “dream come true” to meet with him to discuss the issue. The faux Putin suggested John come to Moscow in November and participate in a gay pride parade, despite the fact that police and counter-protesters have broken up annual gay pride events there for the past decade.

The embarrassing incident has now apparently been smoothed out with Putin’s call. The president seems to be currying goodwill in the west before his speech at the United Nations on Monday. He has given an interview to the 60 Minutes television programme in the US in which he said he admired America’s creativity and openness.

The news of Putin’s potential meeting with John nearly overshadowed the announcement on Thursday that he would meet the US president, Barack Obama, at the UN next week.

Putin signed a law in 2013 that banned the “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors”, ushering in a wave of harassment and violence against gay people, including teenagers. John has campaigned for gay rights in Russia and in 2014 published an open letter condemning the gay propaganda law and offering to introduce Putin to members of the LGBT community.

Despite Putin’s call to John, the president seems to remain firm in stressing “traditional values” over minority rights. The day after John criticised his “ridiculous” attitude towards gay people, it emerged that Putin had awarded a state honour to Vitaly Milonov, a St Petersburg lawmaker known for his efforts to ban “gay propaganda” and prosecute western pop stars that support LGBT rights.

This week, a judge reportedly ordered Deti-404, an online support group for LGBT teenagers, to be shut down, although the site was still accessible on Thursday. This summer, the group’s founder was fined under the gay propaganda law.