UPDATE: Elon Musk denies speaking to Putin before tweeting Ukraine peace plan.
“I have spoken to Putin only once and that was about 18 months ago. The subject matter was space,” Elon Musk said in a tweet.
No, it is not. I have spoken to Putin only once and that was about 18 months ago. The subject matter was space.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 11, 2022
Background:
Elon Musk spoke with Vladimir Putin before tweeting his peace plan for the Ukraine conflict, VICE reported Tuesday.
Eurasia Group subscribers were sent a report in which Ian Bremmer wrote that Elon Musk told him that Russian President Vladimir Putin was willing to negotiate.
Musk told Bremmer that Putin stated that he was “willing to negotiate” if Crimea remained under Russian control, Ukraine remained neutral, and Russia’s annexations of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia were enforced.
According to Bremmer, Musk told Putin that these goals would be met “no matter what,” including the threat of a nuclear strike if Ukraine invaded Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Elon Musk, according to Ian Bremmer, stated that “everything needed to be done to avoid that outcome.”
Last week, Musk tweeted very similar suggestions for peace in Ukraine, adding the suggestion that the referendums held in annexed areas, which have been condemned as sham votes by both Ukraine and the West, be held again under the leadership of the UN.
Ukraine-Russia Peace:
– Redo elections of annexed regions under UN supervision. Russia leaves if that is will of the people.
– Crimea formally part of Russia, as it has been since 1783 (until Khrushchev’s mistake).
– Water supply to Crimea assured.
– Ukraine remains neutral.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 3, 2022
The billionaire’s tweet was widely condemned, including by Ukrainian officials and diplomats.
In response to Musk, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, posted another poll.
Elon Musk’s tweets have also been used in Russian state media reports.
Musk claims he is still pro-Ukraine, but is merely attempting to avoid nuclear war.
