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| Vladimir Putin phones Elton John after request to discuss gay rights in Russia | Vladimir Putin phones Elton John after request to discuss gay rights in Russia |
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| Vladimir Putin has called Sir Elton John after the singer said he wanted to meet the Russian president to discuss his “ridiculous” attitude towards gay people. | |
| “Thank you to President Vladimir Putin for reaching out and speaking via telephone with me today,” John wrote on his Instagram account. “I look to forward to meeting with you face to face to discuss LGBT equality in Russia.” | |
| He did not say exactly what he had spoken to Putin about, or when and where they might meet. Spokesmen for Putin and the Elton John Aids Foundation did not respond to requests for comment. Other media reports said the pair had not set a date. | |
| Putin’s phone call followed harsh criticism from John in neighbouring Ukraine, where he met the president, Petro Poroshenko, to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights. | Putin’s phone call followed harsh criticism from John in neighbouring Ukraine, where he met the president, Petro Poroshenko, to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights. |
| Both Russia and Ukraine have a poor track record on the issue. Videos made in Moscow and Kiev this summer showed passersby insulting and attacking two men holding hands. | Both Russia and Ukraine have a poor track record on the issue. Videos made in Moscow and Kiev this summer showed passersby insulting and attacking two men holding hands. |
| The British musician, who is popular in Russia, has long campaigned to end the country’s law against the “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors” which, according to activists, has essentially made it illegal to disseminate material on LGBT rights and has increased homophobic violence. | The British musician, who is popular in Russia, has long campaigned to end the country’s law against the “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors” which, according to activists, has essentially made it illegal to disseminate material on LGBT rights and has increased homophobic violence. |
| John has condemned the law at concerts in Moscow and St Petersburg, and last year he published an open letter calling for its repeal. | John has condemned the law at concerts in Moscow and St Petersburg, and last year he published an open letter calling for its repeal. |
| John told the BBC on Saturday that he would like to meet Putin to discuss the president’s stance on gay rights, which he called isolating, prejudiced and ridiculous. He particularly criticised the law against gay propaganda and said Putin’s statement at the Sochi Olympics last year that gay people would be fine in Russia as long as they “leave the kids alone” was “stupid”. | John told the BBC on Saturday that he would like to meet Putin to discuss the president’s stance on gay rights, which he called isolating, prejudiced and ridiculous. He particularly criticised the law against gay propaganda and said Putin’s statement at the Sochi Olympics last year that gay people would be fine in Russia as long as they “leave the kids alone” was “stupid”. |
| “It’s probably pie in the sky … He may laugh behind my back when he shuts the door, and call me an absolute idiot, but at least I can think I have the conscience to say I tried,” John said. | “It’s probably pie in the sky … He may laugh behind my back when he shuts the door, and call me an absolute idiot, but at least I can think I have the conscience to say I tried,” John said. |
| Putin’s spokesman told journalists on Monday that the Kremlin was aware of John’s statements, but had not received any requests from the singer directly. | Putin’s spokesman told journalists on Monday that the Kremlin was aware of John’s statements, but had not received any requests from the singer directly. |
| The Kremlin has shown no indication that it might be willing to back down from its tough stance on gay rights. | The Kremlin has shown no indication that it might be willing to back down from its tough stance on gay rights. |
| Last week Putin awarded a medal “for service to the fatherland” to a vocally anti-gay St Petersburg politician known for helping to inspire the gay propaganda law. | |
| Vitaly Milonov told the Guardian on Monday that John should not distract Putin with such an “irrelevant topic” as the “rights of some kind of perverts or another”, and offered to meet the singer himself to explain Russia’s stance on gay rights. | |
| Yury Gavrikov, an LGBT activist, said a meeting between Putin and John could have a positive effect and potentially even lead to the repeal of the gay propaganda law. | Yury Gavrikov, an LGBT activist, said a meeting between Putin and John could have a positive effect and potentially even lead to the repeal of the gay propaganda law. |
| “Water wears away stone,” Gavrikov told the Govorit Moskva radio station. “Any statement in the public space by some significant person or another changes the views of both politicians and people. So it’s not worth waiting for manna from heaven, but I think we can expect another push to somehow change the situation in Russia.” | “Water wears away stone,” Gavrikov told the Govorit Moskva radio station. “Any statement in the public space by some significant person or another changes the views of both politicians and people. So it’s not worth waiting for manna from heaven, but I think we can expect another push to somehow change the situation in Russia.” |