Russia responds to Elon Musk's Twitter polls on the Ukraine war

Moscow, Russia - The Kremlin has welcomed Elon Musk's "proposal" to end Russia's war in Ukraine, while at the same time rejecting the tech billionaire's Twitter musings.

Elon Musk speaks at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas on February 10.
Elon Musk speaks at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas on February 10.  © JIM WATSON / AFP

"It is positive that someone like Elon Musk is looking for a peaceful way out of the situation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, according to state news agency Ria Novosti.

"But as far as holding referendums is concerned, the residents have already expressed their opinion. And nothing else can apply here," he said.

The response comes after Musk took to Twitter calling for a neutral status for Ukraine, the renunciation by Kyiv of the Crimean peninsula, and new referendums in Russian-occupied territories under UN supervision.

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After an indignant response from Kyiv, the Tesla and SpaceX boss put forward a new proposal: the people of Crimea and the eastern Donbas region should vote on whether they wanted to be part of Ukraine or Russia.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda had a spicy comeback to Musk's ideas.

"When someone tries to steal the wheels of your Tesla, that does not make him the rightful owner of the car or the wheels. Even though they claim both voted in favor it," he wrote on Twitter.

Cover photo: JIM WATSON / AFP

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