The Twitter CEO must have been misinformed about the Russian president ever calling him a “war criminal,” Dmitry Peskov has said
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has never labeled Twitter and Tesla CEO Elon Musk as a “war criminal,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
His comments came after Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” rejected calls to put restrictions on the account of former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev after the latter wrote a long post declaring Ukraine would disappear “because nobody needs it.”
Defending his decision, the billionaire CEO claimed he had been informed that “Putin called me a war criminal for helping Ukraine, so he’s not exactly my best friend.” He added that “all news is to some degree propaganda” and people should be allowed to “decide for themselves.”
However, Peskov dismissed the claim that Putin had referred to him as a war criminal.
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“Apparently, Musk received somewhat incorrect, or to be more precise, fake information. It looks like another hoax. Putin has never said that,” he stated.
Peskov made the clarification when asked to comment on whether Russia would unblock Twitter after the platform lifted certain restrictions on the accounts of Russian officials.
Twitter has been banned in Russia since last spring after its media regulator, Roskomnadzor, accused the social media platform of spreading misinformation about the Ukraine conflict.
“To get an answer to this question, you need to contact the relevant department – Roskomnadzor. It’s upon them to decide whether all requirements are met. In the meantime, there is a large number of materials that do not meet the requirements,” Peskov said.
The idea to unblock Twitter in Russia was floated this week by several high-ranking Russian officials, who argued that, with Musk at its helm, the platform could once again be a good way for Moscow to voice its views to a Western audience.
The proposal, however, has been met with some resistance from certain Russian lawmakers, with Aleksandr Yushchenko, an MP from the Communist Party, claiming that the platform is still “hostile” to Russia and is filled with “outlandish and mostly pro-Ukrainian” followers.
