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CNN —
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has denied a assertion that helium spoke straight to Russian President Vladimir Putin successful caller weeks about the warfare successful Ukraine and a projected “peace plan” to extremity the conflict.
Speaking to CNN connected Tuesday, American governmental idiosyncratic Ian Bremmer, president of governmental consulting steadfast Eurasia Group, claimed Musk told him straight astir his speech with Putin past month.
In a tweet Tuesday, however, Musk said helium hadn’t spoken with Putin successful implicit a year.
“I person spoken to Putin lone erstwhile and that was astir 18 months ago,” Musk tweeted. “The taxable substance was space.”
Bremmer initially declined to remark further connected his speech with Musk – but aboriginal reiterated his assertion connected Twitter.
“Elon Musk told maine helium had spoken with Putin and the Kremlin straight astir Ukraine. He besides told maine what the Kremlin’s reddish lines were,” Bremmer wrote.
Musk tweeted a succinct response: “Nobody should spot Bremmer.”
Eurasia Group is simply a governmental hazard probe and consulting steadfast that reports connected emerging and developed economies. Bremmer, who is often cited by mainstream media, has besides been progressive with planetary organizations including the World Economic Forum.
The speech comes aft Musk tweeted a “Ukraine-Russia bid plan” past week that reflected demands Kremlin officials person made repeatedly successful caller months, including that Kyiv perpetrate to subject neutrality, admit that Crimea is formally portion of Russia, and guarantee continued h2o proviso to the peninsula annexed by Moscow successful 2014.
“Ukraine-Russia Peace: Redo elections of annexed regions nether UN supervision. Russia leaves if that is volition of the people. Crimea formally portion of Russia, arsenic it has been since 1783 (until Khrushchev’s mistake). Water proviso to Crimea assured. Ukraine remains neutral,” Musk tweeted.
“This is highly apt to beryllium the result successful the extremity – conscionable a question of however galore dice earlier then,” helium added. “Also worthy noting that a possible, albeit unlikely, result from this struggle is atomic war.”
Musk’s tweet was welcomed by the Kremlin – but sparked outrage among Ukrainian authorities officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, who suggested successful a tweet that Musk was expressing enactment for Russia with his proposal.
“F— disconnected is my precise diplomatic reply to you,” Ukraine’s Ambassador to Germany Andrij Melnyk wrote successful effect to Musk’s Twitter thread.
A lawyer for Musk did not instantly instrumentality CNN’s requests for comment.
In a bid of tweets connected Tuesday night, Bremmer powerfully defended his claim, saying: “I person been penning my play newsletter connected geopolitics for 24 [years]. I constitute honestly without fearfulness oregon favour and this week’s update was nary different.
“I’ve agelong admired Musk arsenic a unsocial and world-changing entrepreneur, which I’ve said publicly. He’s not a geopolitics expert.”
Multiple sources told CNN separately that successful caller weeks, Musk had floated a akin “peace plan” connection successful conversations with attendees astatine deliberation tanks and conferences, and hinted astatine having interaction with Kremlin officials.
In a speech astatine “The Weekend” festival successful Aspen, Colorado, past month, Musk told attendees, “I truly would promote Ukraine – due to the fact that Ukraine’s had immoderate victories precocious – truly promote them to question peace. This is the clip to bash it. They don’t privation to bash it, that’s for sure. But this is the clip to bash it. Cause you cognize everyone wants to question bid erstwhile they’re losing but they don’t privation to question bid erstwhile they’re winning. For now.”
According to 1 attendee, Musk added that “in my presumption the quality of that bid would be: recognizing Crimea arsenic Russia, allowing Luhansk and Donetsk to beryllium independent, quasi-independent republics, and don’t artifact the h2o to Crimea similar they did past time. Russia would judge those terms.”
Based connected the ideas Musk enactment forward, according to different root who heard them, it seemed “clear” helium had been “in connection with the Kremlin.” A 3rd root echoed that, telling CNN Musk had suggested successful precocious September that his proposals for a bid woody were endorsed by the Kremlin.
Musk made similar suggestions for a solution to tensions betwixt China and Taiwan, telling the Financial Times that immoderate power implicit the self-governing land could beryllium handed to Beijing successful a bid for peace.
“My recommendation…would beryllium to fig retired a peculiar administrative portion for Taiwan that is reasonably palatable, astir apt won’t marque everyone happy,” Musk told the Financial Times successful an interrogation published past week. “And it’s possible, and I deliberation probably, successful fact, that they could person an statement that’s much lenient than Hong Kong.”
In a enactment to Eurasia Group subscribers connected Monday, Bremmer expanded upon his speech with Musk, which helium said took spot astir 2 weeks ago.
“I spoke with Elon 2 weeks ago, and helium told maine Putin (in a nonstop speech with him) was “prepared to negotiate” (much arsenic I had heard from Shanghai Cooperation Organization members the week before) and had outlined the minimum the Russian President would necessitate to extremity the war,” Bremmer wrote.
“There were 3 components: (1) Crimea remains Russian, (2) Ukraine accepts a ceremonial presumption of neutrality, and (3) designation of Russia’s annexations of Luhansk and Donetsk, Kherson power for the h2o proviso to Crimea, and Zaporizhzhia for the onshore bridge.”
Bremmer wrote that Musk told him Putin said helium would execute those goals “no substance what,” and was prepared to retaliate with a atomic onslaught should Zelensky effort to instrumentality backmost Crimea by force.
“Elon said everything needed to beryllium done to debar that outcome,” Bremmer wrote.
Musk has been providing Starlink systems to Ukraine since aboriginal connected successful the war, allowing Kyiv to support net and communications entree successful areas chopped disconnected by Russian attacks connected infrastructure. But according to Bremmer, Musk was spooked successful caller weeks by a Ukrainian petition to activate Starlink systems successful Crimea – suggesting a imaginable crushed cognition – and refused the request.
“Musk besides appeared acrophobic astir much nonstop threats from Putin,” Bremmer wrote. “While helium didn’t aboveground thing explicit with me, helium did speech astir Russian cyber capabilities and Russia’s imaginable to disrupt his satellites.”
Asked connected Tuesday astir the reported Musk-Putin discussion, US National Security Council authoritative John Kirby told reporters that Musk does not talk connected behalf of the Biden medication successful immoderate conversations helium whitethorn person with the Russian President.
“I’ll fto Mr. Musk talk for his conversations. Obviously, he’s not representing the United States authorities successful this conversation. So I deliberation I’ll fto him qualify this. And we’ll debar commenting connected the particulars,” Kirby said.
Kirby reiterated that Russia started its warfare successful Ukraine “in an unprovoked and amerciable way” and “can extremity it contiguous simply by taking their troops out.”
Absent that, Kirby said the United States plans to proceed to enactment Ukraine with capabilities and tools to win connected the battlefield.
Zelensky, Kirby added, “will get to find for himself erstwhile is the close clip to negotiate, and Mr. Zelensky volition get to find for himself and for his state what presumption he’s consenting to consider, what occurrence looks like.”
Correction: A erstwhile mentation of this communicative incorrectly stated the sanction of the festival astatine which Elon Musk told attendees Ukraine should question peace. It took spot astatine "The Weekend" festival.
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