Vladimir Putin phones Elton John (for real, this time)

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to British musician Elton John on the telephone this week, following a recent hoax by two Russian pranksters, who fooled John into believing Putin had called him, leading to worldwide reports that the two had discussed gay rights in Russia.

Today, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that Putin has now telephoned John. According to Peskov, Putin asked John not to be offended by the prank, and suggested meeting in person.

"President Putin knows how popular a singer Elton John is, and he says he's ready to meet with him to discuss any issues of interest, if their schedules coincide," Peskov told reporters.

• On September 16, two pranksters revealed that they were behind a September 15 phone call to Elton John. Vladimir Kuznetsov (known online as "Vovan" and once a frequent guest on the pro-Kremlin news outlet LifeNews for his prank calls to politicians in Ukraine) and Alexey Stolyarov admitted that they were the ones who called John, saying they asked him about his recent meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Later that evening, Kuznetsov and Stolyarov appeared on the late night talk show "Evening Urgant," which airs on the national TV network Channel One, where they shared audio clips from the phone call. Kuznetsov was the one who pretended to be Putin. Speaking Russian, Stolyarov translated in broken English, pretending to be Putin's press secretary and interpreter. Based on the audio fragments, Elton John appears to have told "Putin" that he intends to continue fighting for LGBT rights, saying that this is precisely what he told Poroshenko, when they met in Kiev.
• For more on this story, see How Elton John never talked to Vladimir Putin: A short recap of this week’s telephonic, madcap misadventure