Listen to Putin Hoax Phone Call With Sir Elton John

The Russian pranksters who impersonated President Vladimir Putin in a telephone call with British musician Sir Elton John have released a recording of the conversation.

Comedians Vladimir Krasnov and Aleksi Stolyarov told Russian media that they targeted the singer after he said he wished to meet the Russian president to discuss rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, Reuters reports.

Sir Elton publicly thanked the Russian leader on Tuesday in a message posted on his official Instagram page, leading to Putin's office denying that any call had taken place.

The call, which goes on for 11 minutes, has now been posted on YouTube.

After the hoax was revealed, Sir Elton posted another message on his Instagram account, reiterating that he still hopes to talk to the Russian leader. "I love Russia and my offer to talk to President Putin about LGBT rights still stands," he said. "If this unfortunate incident has helped push this vital issue back into the spotlight then I am happy to be pranked on this occasion."

During the call, the two comedians impersonate Putin and his press secretary Dmitry Peskov. Sir Elton begins the call by saying he is "extremely honored" to have been called by Putin and that "it's a great privilege to be able to speak to one of the most influential people in the whole world."

The pranksters ask Sir Elton about his recent visit to Ukraine, where he met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (the singer had uploaded a picture of the two of them to his Instagram account). Sir Elton told the hoaxers that he had visited Ukraine for humanitarian purposes, rather than political ones. "You can tell the president that I have loved Russia since 1979 when I first came there," Sir Elton told the callers. "I do not want to get mixed up in a political dialogue."

The Rocket Man singer tells the callers that he wishes to meet with Putin face-to-face in order to discuss gay rights in Russia. The prankster acting as Putin says he would be able to meet with Sir Elton in mid-November and invites him to attend a gay parade in Moscow, which the singer accepts. "Please tell the president I'm not coming in to cause trouble. I'm coming in to talk to him on a one-to-one level because of my love for Russia and because I just want the humanitarian issue to be made better," Sir Elton said. "I just want to make the situation better if I can."

Signing off the call, Sir Elton told the interpreter that Putin had "made my day" by calling and described it as "a very wonderful moment in my life."