Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Elon Musk is a “true genius” and disclosed that Russia and the SpaceX founder are in close contact over satellite technology. Speaking at the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow, Putin said the discussions include avoiding interference between Russia’s satellite internet system, referred to in the remarks as “Rusvet” and elsewhere as “Rasvet” or “Rasbet,” and SpaceX’s Starlink network.
“He is a genius, a true genius,” Putin said of Musk, according to a translation of his remarks by the BBC. “We are in close contact with our partners in the United States, including Mr. Musk.”
Starlink is operated by Musk’s company, SpaceX, which did not respond to requests for comment.
Russia’s satellite internet project
Putin said communication with Musk and other U.S. partners was important to ensure that the Russian and Starlink satellites do not “interfere with each other in orbit.”
“This is something that we and our U.S. partners mutually value, and despite all the political issues, we are working hard,” he said.
According to the company, Starlink has launched about 13,000 satellites to date. By contrast, online satellite trackers show that only a few dozen satellites associated with Russia’s system are currently in orbit.
The Russian embassy in South Africa described Rasbet on Wednesday as “Russia’s Starlink alternative” and said it “is only the country’s first step in this field.”
“Russia maintains close contacts with the United States in the space field, including with Elon Musk,” the embassy wrote.
Comments amid shifting U.S.-Russia relations
Putin’s comments about the Russian system and Starlink came as relations between the United States and Russia appeared to be growing closer, even as the five-year anniversary of Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine approached.
Ukraine has relied on Starlink internet to help keep Russian forces at bay. However, the country’s military experienced sudden Starlink connectivity problems last week, and Musk acknowledged that SpaceX had intentionally caused the disruption.
Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a diesel-import deal with Russia intended to lower gasoline prices, which have risen sharply because of the war between the United States and Iran.
Trump subsequently waived some sanctions against Russia that had been scheduled to take effect. Shortly afterward, an American was released from Russian custody, and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff called Putin a “humanitarian.”
Musk was born in South Africa and later immigrated to Canada before settling in the United States. His business ventures, including Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink, are based in the United States, with most of their operations in California and Texas.
The billionaire is one of Trump’s and other Republican U.S. politicians’ most prominent political allies and financial backers.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
