Putin Really Called Elton John This Time, Kremlin Says
Source: Bloomberg
September 24, 2015 — 11:55 AM EDT
Updated on September 24, 2015 — 1:10 PM EDT
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Elton John and invited him to a meeting after the British singer fell victim to a prank phone caller who pretended to be the Kremlin leader.
Putin asked John on Thursday not to be offended by the hoax call and said he’s ready to meet him to discuss any subject, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during the president’s visit to the Rostov region in southern Russia. The singer initially didn’t believe the offer was real when the Russian ambassador in London, Alexander Yakovenko, approached him, Peskov told reporters later on a conference call.
The diplomat “at first had some difficulty in explaining that he was the real Russian ambassador and that the real president of our country wants to speak” to John, Peskov said. The “diplomacy of our ambassador” eventually persuaded the singer and the phone call was arranged, he said.
John was caught out last week by two Russian comedians who tricked him into believing that Peskov had called from the Kremlin and connected him to Putin after the singer said he’d like to discuss Russia’s “ridiculous” stance on gay rights with the president. They aired a recording of the 11-minute conversation on Russian television.
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-24/putin-really-calls-elton-john-this-time-kremlin-says-after-hoax?module=TopNews&position=6_headline
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