Comment: It turns out that Elton John was pranked by two well-known Russian phone pranksters. See below for details.
© GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty ImagesSir Elton John delivers a speech about tolerance and equal rights for all during 12th Yalta European Strategy forum (YES) in Kiev on Sept. 12, 2015
The legendary artist posted on his Instagram Tuesday that Putin called him by telephone and they will meet in Russia to talk about LGBT equality.
"Thank-you to President Vladimir Putin for reaching out and speaking via telephone with me today," he posted. "I look forward to meeting with you face-to-face to discuss LGBT equality in Russia."
Putin's call came after Elton John did an interview with the BBC saying he wanted to meet with the Russian leader over his "ridiculous" attitude to gay rights.
"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," he told BBC.
Elton John is currently in Ukraine and met with President Petro Poroshenko about the country supporting LGBT rights.
Update (September 16):
Famous Russian pranksters known as Vovan and Lexus told RT it was them who are behind Tuesday's international news sensation, saying they made Elton John believe he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about gay rights.
On Tuesday, pop singer Elton John boasted on Instagram that he had been contacted by phone by President Vladimir Putin, who had also promised a "face-to-face" meeting to the singer and gay-rights activist to talk about "LGBT equality in Russia."
The Russian president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov later denied that such a call ever took place, adding that he didn't know who Sir Elton had talked with.
On Wednesday, Russian phone pranksters Vladimir Krasnov and Aleksey Stolyarov, aka Vovan and Lexus, claimed it was them who had the conversation with Sir Elton, with Vovan posing as Putin and Lexus - who is fluent in English - pretending to be the president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov and translating during the conversation.
Vovan confirmed to RT that it was them who had deceived the pop star. The call - which lasted 11 minutes had been recorded, the pranksters said, promising to make it public soon.
They just wanted to make Elton John happy, the pranksters also told Russian daily KP, saying that they thought it to be unlikely that Putin would meet or call the British pop legend.
The two men have long been famous in Russia for making fun of high-profile people, including politicians and celebrities. They have recently organized several prank calls touching upon relations with Ukraine. Posing as the son of Ukraine's ousted president, Viktor Yanukovich junior, Vovan has asked Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko for an asylum for his father. He had also spoken to a US military commander Kevin McNeely pretending to be Ukrainian interior minister Arsen Avakov, making the high-ranking general promise to help equip Kiev's National Guard.
These two clowns can get away with this? What happens when they overstep their level of intelligence and start a serious conflict between military people and leaders of countries? Is that funny?