Twitter CEO must have been misinformed that Russian president ever called him a ‘war criminal’, says Dmitry Peskov
Russian President Vladimir Putin has never called Twitter and Tesla CEO Elon Musk a “war criminal” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.
His comments came after Musk, a self-proclaimed “absolutist of freedom of expression”, rejected calls to impose restrictions on former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s account after the latter wrote a lengthy message saying Ukraine would disappear “because nobody needs it.”
Defending his decision, the billionaire CEO claimed he was told 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 extent propaganda” and people should be allowed to “deicide for themselves.”
However, Peskov dismissed the claim that Putin called him a war criminal.
“Apparently Musk received somewhat incorrect, or to be more precise, false information. It looks like another hoax. Putin never said that. he stated.
Peskov made the clarification when asked if Russia would unblock Twitter after the platform lifted some restrictions on Russian officials’ accounts.
Twitter has been banned in Russia since last spring after its media regulator, Roskomnadzor, accused the social media platform of spreading misinformation about the conflict in Ukraine.
“To get an answer to this question, you need to contact the relevant service – Roskomnadzor. It is up to them to decide whether all the requirements are met. In the meantime, there are a large number of materials that do not meet the requirements,” said Peskov.
The idea of unblocking Twitter in Russia was floated this week by several senior Russian officials, who argued that with Musk at the helm, the platform could once again be a good way for Moscow to express its views to a Western audience.
The proposal, however, has met with some resistance from some Russian lawmakers, with Communist Party MP Aleksandr Yushchenko saying the platform is still hostile to Russia and is filled with “strange and especially pro-Ukrainian” followers.
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