CNN) — Tesla CEO Elon Musk denies the claim that he spoke directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine and a proposed “peace plan” to end the conflict in recent weeks.
American political scientist Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group political consultancy, told CNN on Tuesday that Musk told him directly about his conversation with Putin last month.
However, in a tweet Tuesday afternoon, Musk said he had not spoken to Putin in over a year.
“I have spoken to Putin only once and that was about 18 months ago.” Musk tweeted. “The theme was space.”
Musk last week tweeted a “Ukrainian-Russian peace plan” that reflected demands Kremlin officials have repeatedly made in recent months, including that Ukraine commit to military neutrality, recognize Crimea as formally part of Russia and ensure the continued supply of water to Crimea.
An attorney for Musk did not immediately return CNN’s requests for comment.
Multiple sources told CNN separately that Musk had been pitching a similar “peace plan” proposal in recent weeks in talks with attendees of think tanks and conferences, and had hinted at contact with Kremlin officials.
Based on the ideas Musk laid out, according to a source who heard them, it seemed “clear” that he had been “in communication with the Kremlin.” Another source echoed this, telling CNN that Musk had been suggesting in late September that his proposals for a peace deal were backed by the Kremlin.
In a note to Eurasia Group subscribers on Monday, Bremmer expanded on his conversation with Musk, which he said took place about two weeks ago.
“I spoke with Elon two weeks ago, and he told me that Putin (in a direct conversation with him) was ‘ready to negotiate’ (as he had heard from members of the Shanghai cooperation organization the previous week) and had outlined the minimum the Russian president would require to end the war,” Bremmer wrote.
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Elon Musk denies the information that he spoke with Putin about Ukraine