Sir Elton John speaks to Russian president Vladimir Putin after calling for meeting over gay rights

Sir Elton John has spoken with Russian president Vladimir Putin on the telephone after requesting a meeting to discuss Russia's anti-gay environment.

The 68-year-old pop star posted a photograph of Putin on Instagram, writing: "Thank-you to President Vladimir Putin for reaching out and speaking via telephone with me today.

"I look to forward to meeting with you face-to-face to discuss LGBT equality in Russia."

The singer has criticised Putin's"ridiculous" stance on gay rights and accused him of saying "stupid things" in reference to his warning to gay people travelling to the Winter Olympics to "leave the children in peace".

Russia also passed a law banning homosexual "propaganda" among children in June 2013, sparking an international outcry.

The telephone conversation comes after Sir Elton requested a meeting with the Russian leader after speaking at a conference in neighbouring Ukraine, where he met with the country's president Petro Poroshenko to lobby him about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights.

The star thanked Mr Poroshenko for his "support" after meeting with him.

Sir Elton also posted a photo of him and Mr Poroshenko on his Instagram page with the caption: "After speaking at the YES Ukraine 2015 Conference today in Kiev, I met with Ukraine President Poroshenko about the importance of legislative changes to support LGBT rights.

"Specifically, I asked him to: 1. Ban discrimination in the workplace based on sexuality and gender identity. 2. Provide criminal penalties for hate crimes.

"We need Ukrainian businessmen and power brokers to create a more inclusive and tolerant society. We need this everywhere!"