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Putin telephoned Elton John in September to say he would be
ready to meet for a chat after the entertainer requested a
meeting to discuss his concerns about gay rights in Russia.
"When they spoke by telephone several months ago, they agreed
... they will meet during Elton John's stay in Moscow," Putin's
spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a teleconference with journalists.
"Such a meeting cannot be excluded, if there are precise dates
of his (John's) stay here and if the president's working
schedule allows it," he said without elaborating.
John, 69, is set to give a concert in a high-end Moscow shopping
and entertainment center on May 30 as part of his world tour.
Before going to Moscow, he is expected to give a concert at an
ice palace in St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city and
Putin's birthplace.
Western states and human rights activists have criticized Russia
for its treatment of gay people, and John has previously spoken
out against a 2013 law banning the dissemination of "gay
propaganda" among young people. Putin has said he is not
prejudiced against gay people.
Russian online booking sites are selling tickets for John's
concert in Moscow at prices reaching 88,000 rubles ($1,287) per
seat.
($1 = 68.3604 rubles)
(Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Christian Lowe)
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