Sir Elton John has offered to introduce President Vladimir Putin to members of Russia's gay community he says are being threatened because of new laws on homosexuality.
Sir Elton John. Photo: AFP
The singer said while foreigners visiting Russia are not affected by the law, it is a very different story for those living in the country.
Sir Elton visited Russia in December last year and said he had met many people in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender community who said they had been attacked or threatened as a result of the new laws, the BBC reports.
He said what he heard reinforced media reports saying that vicious homophobia has been legitimised by this legislation and given extremists the cover to abuse people's basic human rights.
Sir Elton called the laws deeply dangerous and said he would welcome the opportunity to introduce Mr Putin to members of Russia's gay community.
Mr Putin has denied being homophobic and said he would be happy to meet Sir Elton to discuss his policies.