Putin ready to meet with Elton John

‘‘Today Vladimir Putin telephoned British singer and musician Elton John and apologized for the joke of Russian prankers,’’ presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said today.

Putin expressed his willingness to meet with the star personally, "if their schedules meet" and asked him not to take offense, saying that the pranksters are ‘‘harmless guys, but he doesn’t try to justify them."

Earlier, Elton John thanked the Russian President on a social network for his phone call, saying that he is waiting for "a face-to-face meeting in order to discuss issues of the LGBT community in Russia." At the same time, Dmitry Peskov denied the fact of this conversation. It became known that a trick was played on the famous singer by telephone. But Elton John still intends to discuss this issue with President Putin, TASS reports.