Prank call? Elton John says Putin phoned him over gay rights; Russia says no

Moscow: If not Vladimir Putin, who called up popstar Elton John in the name of the Russian President?

British crooner Elton John on Tuesday posted a picture of Vladimir Purin on his Instagram account, thanking the Russian President for speaking to him on phone and discuss LGBT rights in Russia.

John also expressed a desire to meet him face-to-face and talk in detail about the gay rights.

Here is the Instagram post:

However, in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin's office categorically denied any such phone call was dialled up.

"That is not true. There was no conversation," the CNN quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as telling reporters in Russia, according to the Russian state-run news agency Sputnik.

The famous British singer had visited Kiev last weekend where he backed Ukraine against external aggression and called on the country for greater tolerance towards homosexuals.

He had then said he would like to speak to Putin about the situation of homosexuals in Russia, where human rights organisations claim that the rights of the group were violated.