Here's a look at Musk's contact with Putin and why it matters
UNB
Publish: 26 Oct 2024, 04:33 PM
WASHINGTON,
Oct 26 (AP/UNB) - Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of major government
contractor SpaceX and a key ally of Republican presidential nominee Donald
Trump, has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin for
the last two years, The Wall Street Journal reported.
A person familiar with
the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive
matter, confirmed to The Associated Press that Musk and Putin have had contact
through calls. The person didn't provide additional details about the frequency
of the calls, when they occurred or their content.
Musk, the world's
richest man who also owns Tesla and the social platform X, has emerged as a
leading voice on the American right. He's poured millions of dollars into
Trump's presidential bid and turned the platform once known as Twitter into a
site popular with Trump supporters, as well as conspiracy theorists, extremists
and Russian propagandists.
Musk's contacts with
Putin raise national security questions, given his companies' work for the
government, and highlight concerns about Russian influence in American
politics.
Here's what to know:
What they talked about
Musk and Putin have
spoken repeatedly about personal matters, business and geopolitics, The Journal
reported Thursday, citing multiple current and former officials in the U.S.,
Europe and Russia.
During one talk, Putin
asked Musk not to activate his Starlink satellite system over Taiwan as a favor
for Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose ties to Putin have grown closer, the
Journal reported. Putin and Xi have met more than 40 times since 2013.
Russia has denied the
conversations took place. In 2022, Musk said he'd only spoken to Putin once, in
a call 18 months earlier focused on space.
The Chinese Embassy in
Washington said Friday that it was "not aware of the specifics" of
any requests made by Putin on China's behalf.
There was no immediate
response to messages left with X and Tesla seeking Musk's comment.
What the talks mean for
national security
Musk's relationship with
Putin raises national security questions given the billions of dollars in
government contracts awarded to SpaceX, a critical partner to NASA and
government satellite programs.
Trump also has vowed to
give Musk a role in his administration if he wins next month.
Former U.S. Ambassador
to Russia Michael McFaul said it's unusual for business leaders to be in
contact with Putin without informing U.S. authorities. While CEOs may often
interact with foreign leaders, Putin stands apart, given his invasion of
Ukraine, McFaul said.
"He's a war
criminal who is slaughtering civilians. That makes this wrong in my view,"
McFaul said of Musk's talks with Putin. "You have to decide what team you
are on. Are you on the American team or are you on the Russian team?"
The request from Putin
on Starlink as a favor to China is likely to get attention, given U.S. support
for Taiwan and concerns about the growing partnership between the Kremlin and
Beijing.
Musk, whose Tesla
operates Gigafactory Shanghai, has developed a close relationship with China's
leaders. His remarks about China have been friendly, and he has suggested
Taiwan cede some control to Beijing by becoming a special administrative
region.
Moscow has growing ties
to other American adversaries. The U.S. has accused Russia of sending ballistic
missiles to Iran and said North Korea sent troops to Russia, possibly for
combat in Ukraine.
On Ukraine, Musk's views
have shifted since he initially supported Kyiv following Russia's 2022 invasion
and provided it with his Starlink system for communications.
Musk then refused to
allow Ukraine in 2023 to use Starlink for a surprise attack on Russian soldiers
in Crimea.
He also floated a peace
proposal that would have required Ukraine to drop plans for NATO membership and
given Russia permanent control of Crimea, which it seized in 2014. The plan
infuriated Ukrainian leaders.
The timing of the calls
reported by The Journal and Musk's changing views on Ukraine was a
"disturbing coincidence," said Bradley Bowman, a former West Point
assistant professor who is now senior director of the Center on Military and
Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based
think tank.
"The policy of the
U.S. government is to try to isolate Vladimir Putin, and Elon Musk is directly
undercutting that," Bowman said. "What is Putin doing with Musk?
Putin is trying to reduce his international isolation and impact American
foreign policy."
One person familiar with
the talks between Musk and Putin told The Journal that there is no evidence
Musk's contact with Putin represents a security problem for the U.S.
Asked about Musk's
contacts with Putin, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told
reporters Friday that he had no information to share.
The Pentagon and U.S.
intelligence officials declined to comment. The State Department didn't respond
to an email seeking comment.
Musk's close ties to
Trump
Musk recently appeared
at a Trump rally, sporting a Make America Great Again hat and delivered a
ominous warning that if Trump lost the race "this will be the last
election."
Last year, Musk mocked
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's request for aid and said in February
that Ukraine couldn't win the war.
Trump, who has praised
Putin's leadership and criticized the NATO alliance and U.S. aid for Ukraine,
has raised questions about what he would be willing to concede if he's elected
in a negotiation over Ukraine's future
U.S. intelligence
officials and private sector analysts have concluded that Russia is working to
covertly support Trump with disinformation and propaganda targeting his
Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. Since Musk took over X, it
has become a leading online source of Russian propaganda and disinformation
aimed at Americans.
Trump has faced scrutiny
over his own recent contacts with Putin, outlined in a new book by Watergate
journalist Bob Woodward.
Woodward quoted an
unnamed Trump aide who said the former president and Putin may have had as many
as seven conversations since Trump lost reelection in 2020. Before one of the
calls, the aide said they were asked to leave Trump's office to give the two
privacy.
The Trump campaign and
the Kremlin have denied those calls occurred.
In response to questions
about Musk and Putin, Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt called
Musk "a once-in-a-generation industry leader" whose ideas could benefit
"our broken federal bureaucracy."
"As for Putin,
there's only one candidate in the race that he did not invade another country
under, and it's President Trump," Leavitt said in a statement.
"President Trump has long said that he will re-establish his peace through
strength foreign policy to deter Russia's aggression and end the war in
Ukraine."
Russia confirms one
conversation
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry
Peskov on Friday rejected The Journal's report as "absolutely false
information."
Peskov said Putin and
Musk once held a "medium-length phone conversation" prior to 2022
that was "more of an introductory nature" and focused on
"visionary technologies."
"After that, Musk
had no contacts with Putin," Peskov said, dismissing The Journal's article
as political.
"The election has
entered its home stretch, and of course the opponents stop at nothing,"
Peskov said. "Remember that a week ago they were saying that Putin
allegedly talks to Trump all day long. Now he allegedly talks to Musk all the
time. It's all untrue."
Ukraine's military
intelligence told the AP that they would "refrain from commenting"
about communication between Putin and Musk.
END/UNB/AP/PR