British rock star Sir Elton John is currently in Ukraine not to perform a concert, but to attend a political conference. He has just met up with Ukranian president Petro Poroshenko, urging him to give more support to the LGBT community.
His next target, Russian president Vladimir Putin.
"It's probably pie in the sky... He may laugh behind my back when he shuts the door, and call me an absolute idiot, but at least I can think I have the conscience to say I tried," the singer said in an interview with BBC.
In 2013, Putin passed a law that prosecuted private individuals promoting homosexual behavior among minors and prohibited same-sex marriages. Just last year, Putin also made a comment about gay individuals, saying "Gay people have nothing to fear in Russia, as long as they leave the children alone."
Sir Elton called these remarks "ridiculous."
"Give me a break," he said. "You are President of Russia, and you go and say stupid things like that?"
So what would he say to the Russian president should they get together over tea?
"I'd say 'Come on ... gay people are not the problem here. They're not the problem of the world. The world faces much bigger problems than gay people," John continued to say in his interview. "Be accepting and let's all pull together and try to solve the problems of the world but don't isolate and be prejudiced against gay people."
Over the last few years, there have also been a number of alarming attacks against gays in Russia, with a number of them even resulting in fatalities.
Despite this, John stated that he will continue to play concerts in the country. It can be noted that the "Candle in the Wind" singer became the first western rock star to perform in Russia (then USSR) in 1979. More recently, he held a concert in Moscow in 2013 and in St. Petersburg last year.
