Controversy over an alleged conversation between Putin and Elon Musk
According to Vice News, the tycoon and the Russian president had a telephone conversation in which Putin indicated his intentions and his “red lines”.
Elon Musk, tycoon and founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, may have had a private conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The richest man in the world and one of the most powerful, each on one side of the phone. In the alledged conversation, Putin is said to have told Musk that he would use nuclear weapons to defend the newly annexed regions of Ukraine.
According to Vice News, Elon Musk reportedly told Ian Bremmer, geopolitical analyst and head of the Eurasia Group consultancy, that the Russian president has the firm decision to win the war in Ukraine “no matter what”. This conversation would have been held a few weeks ago, in an attempt by the tycoon to mediate in the conflict , according to Bremmer in his newsletter for subscribers.
In this conversation, according to Bremmer, Putin indicated to Musk his intentions to “negotiate” a peace agreement with Ukraine, as long as Crimea was recognized as part of Russia, as well as the regions of Kherson, Donetsk, Lugansk and Zaporizhia. This would have happened before the attack on the Kerch bridge, whose authorship both sides of this conflict are accused. However, Musk denies having such a conversation with Putin about the use of nuclear weapons, before presenting his proposal for the peace plan.
Musk rules out a possible meeting
Regarding this alleged conversation, according to Bremmer, Musk related to Bremmer the red lines put down by the Kremlin , although the geopolitical analyst has not offered the details in this regard. “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,” Bremmer wrote. “I have been writing my weekly newsletter on geopolitics for 24 yrs. I write honestly without fear or favor and this week’s update was no different.”
“I’ve long admired Musk as a unique and world-changing entrepreneur, which I’ve said publicly. He’s not a geopolitics expert,” he added.
According to Elon Musk, his last conversation with the Russian president was 18 months ago, when the current aggression on Ukraine could not yet be predicted. And the subject matter of that talk, he explains, was issues related to space. Questioned by a user about the possibility of having a new talk with Putin, Musk explains that, currently, it does not make sense.
Likewise, the South African tycoon indicates that he does not rule out the eventuality of a nuclear war, an option that he considers possible, but unlikely.