LONDON -- A spokesman for Vladimir Putin has denied the Russian leader phoned Elton John to discuss gay rights in Russia.
The singer posted a message on Instagram on Tuesday, saying he had spoken to Putin and was looking forward to meeting him in person, but the denial has led some to say he was the victim of a hoax.
Elton John appeared to post a message on Instagram Tuesday that said: "Thank-you to President Vladimir Putin for reaching out and speaking via telephone with me today. I look to forward to meeting with you face-to-face to discuss LGBT equality in Russia."
Thank-you to President Vladimir Putin for reaching out and speaking via telephone with me today. I look to forward to meeting with you face-to-face to discuss LGBT equality in Russia. @president_vladimir_putin @ejaf #lgbt #lgbtrights #ShareTheLove A photo posted by Elton John (@eltonjohn) on Sep 14, 2015 at 8:11am PDT
However, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied that any conversation had taken place.
"I don't know who spoke to Elton John but President Putin did not speak to him," he said. "President Putin did not speak to Elton John and most importantly we didn't receive any proposals to meet."
John has long campaigned to end Russia's law against so-called “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors,” speaking out on the issue at concerts in the country.
He told the BBC on Saturday that he wanted to meet Putin, even though "he may laugh behind my back... and call me an absolute idiot" to address his "ridiculous" attitude to gay rights.
The singer met Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko earlier this week, where he said he asked him to ban discrimination in the workplace based on sexuality and gender identity, and provide criminal penalties for hate crimes.
After speaking at the #YESUkraine2015 Conference today in Kiev, I met with Ukraine President Poroshenko about the importance of legislative changes to support LGBT rights. Specifically, I asked him to: 1. Ban discrimination in the workplace based on sexuality and gender identity. 2. Provide criminal penalties for hate crimes. I want to thank him and the First Lady for welcoming me and David so warmly, and for his support. @ejaf @davidfurnish @poroshenkopetro #lgbt #lgbtrights #ShareTheLove A photo posted by Elton John (@eltonjohn) on Sep 12, 2015 at 12:06pm PDT