Story about secret calls between Putin and Musk “a lie”

The Wall Street Journal claimed that the US billionaire regularly holds talks with the Russian president

A long article in the Wall Street Journal alleging that Elon Musk secretly contacted Vladimir Putin and other high-ranking Russian officials is untrue and most likely related to the entrepreneur’s involvement in the US presidential election, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

The American billionaire and the Russian president had a single, medium-length telephone conversation before the Ukraine conflict escalated into open hostilities in February 2022, Peskov told reporters, repeating what he had told the WSJ.

“It is most likely just disinformation in the extremely confrontational political election campaign.” [in the US]. “The race is in its final phase and the opponents are afraid of nothing,” the officer suggested.

The WSJ published its article on Thursday, mainly detailing Musk’s role as a private US military and national security contractor, his stance on the Ukraine conflict and his support for Trump’s re-election campaign. The newspaper mused that the billionaire’s public statements about resolving the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, which he has been making since the end of 2022, “reflected some aspects of the Kremlin” Position.

According to the newspaper, Musk has communicated with Putin “current and former U.S., European and Russian officials.” The calls are obvious “a closely guarded secret in the government” wrote the WSJ, as several White House officials told the medium they were unaware of such contacts.

The only Russian source cited in the text is a “Former intelligence officer informed about the situation” who claimed that Putin asked Musk late last year not to activate the Starlink satellite system in Taiwan as a favor to Beijing. Musk’s SpaceX does not have a license to provide internet services in Taiwan, the newspaper noted.

In addition to Putin, Musk is in contact with former Russian Prime Minister Sergei Kirienko, who currently serves as deputy head of the presidential administration, the report said. The billionaire declined to comment on the issue, the WSJ said.

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Just weeks ago there were allegations that Trump was secretly in contact with Putin, now it is Musk, said the Kremlin spokesman.

Peskov was referring to a book by US journalist Bob Woodward published earlier this month in which he claimed a source told him that the Republican politician had spoken to the Russian leader several times since leaving office. Both Trump and Putin have denied the claim.