Servet Günerigök
12 October 2022•Update: 12 October 2022
WASHINGTON
US tech billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday rejected a report that claimed he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin before posting a controversial poll about Ukraine on Twitter.
In the poll last week, titled "Ukraine-Russia Peace," Musk asked "yes" or "no" on redoing referendums in Ukraine's regions annexed by Moscow, recognition of Crimea's annexation, an assurance that water would continue to be supplied to Crimea and Ukraine being neutral.
Earlier in the day, Ian Bremmer, the head of political-risk consultancy Eurasia Group, sent a newsletter to his subscribers saying the Tesla CEO told him that he spoke to the Russian president.
Later, Bremmer took to the Twitter, saying: "Elon Musk told me he had spoken with Putin and the Kremlin directly about Ukraine. He also told me what the Kremlin’s red lines were."
"Nobody should trust Bremmer," Musk responded.
Before his argument with Bremmer, when asked on Twitter whether it was true or not, Musk responded: "I have spoken to Putin only once, and that was about 18 months ago. The subject matter was space.”
Bremmer later said in a subsequent tweet that he has been writing his weekly newsletter on geopolitics for 24 years.
"I write honestly without fear or favor, and this week’s update was no different," said Bremmer, later adding: "I’ve long admired Musk as a unique and world-changing entrepreneur, which I've said publicly. He's not a geopolitics expert."
The newsletter was first reported by Vice News.
Musk's Twitter poll Monday on the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine drew criticism from Ukrainian officials, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posting his own poll asking his followers if they like a Musk who supports Ukraine or Russia.
The harshest reaction came from Andrij Melnyk, Ukraine’s top diplomat in Germany, who told Musk to "f..k off."
"The only outcome is that now, no Ukrainian will EVER buy your f…ing tesla crap. So good luck to you," said Melnyk in one tweet.
"F…k off is my very diplomatic reply to you," he said in another post.
