Elon Musk's secret talks with Putin raise global tensions
The American newspaper Wall Street Journal, citing US, European, and Russian sources, reports that billionaire Elon Musk has been maintaining regular contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kremlin officials since 2022. The Kremlin allegedly pressured SpaceX's owner and requested that he not activate the Starlink network over Taiwan.
25 October 2024 14:07
According to "WSJ", the secret talks of the world's richest man with Putin involved "personal, business, and geopolitical tension topics." In addition to conversations with Putin, Musk is said to have held "regular" talks with "high-level Russians," including the deputy head of the presidential administration of Russia, Sergey Kiriyenko. These contacts were supposed to last from the latter half of 2022 to 2024.
The newspaper notes that US authorities accuse Kiriyenko of directing Kremlin disinformation operations, including on Musk's X platform.
"WSJ" also writes that the escalation of the billionaire’s contacts with Russia coincided with a change in his stance on supporting Ukraine and his reiteration of Russian propaganda positions, including "his peace plan" to cede Crimea to Russia and guarantee Ukraine's neutrality.
Were there threats?
There were also doubts about reports of Russian forces using the Starlink system and the broadcast on the X platform of an interview by right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson with Putin. According to one newspaper source, Musk faced public and private pressure, including veiled threats. Publicly, he was threatened by the then-head of Roskosmos, Dmitry Rogozin.
Furthermore, the newspaper reports, citing a former Russian intelligence officer, that at the end of last year, Putin requested Musk not activate the satellite internet network Starlink over Taiwan as a favour to Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The company has not obtained permission to operate in Taiwan, although the Starlink website mentions that the system will be available "soon."
Musk, Putin, and Trump
The billionaire's contacts with Russians were said to have continued while he was preparing to buy Twitter and engage in Donald Trump’s election campaign, who promised a quick end to the war in Ukraine and was also rumoured to have had secret talks with Putin.
In response to the newspaper's questions, Trump's campaign spokeswoman praised Musk. "As for Putin, there is only one candidate in the race during whose administration Putin did not invade another country, and that is President Trump," she emphasised.
Elon Musk has not yet commented on the revelations published by "WSJ".
