Russia Offers Elon Musk Political Asylum Amid Feud With Donald Trump
Amid escalating tensions between Elon Musk and President Donald Trump, Russian lawmaker Dmitry Novikov has suggested that Musk could seek political asylum in Russia. Dmitry Novikov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs (Communist Party of the Russian Federation), made the statement following a heated exchange of accusations between Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump, according to Russian News Agency TASS.
"I think that Musk has a completely different game, that he will not need any political asylum, although, if he did, Russia, of course, could provide it," Mr Novikov told the news agency in response to a question about whether Russia is ready to grant asylum to Mr Musk, as Edward Snowden was earlier.
The lawmaker noted that over the years, Mr Musk has formed "a kind of political communication", so "individual disagreements will remain separate disagreements."
"At this stage, the return of the Democratic team to the White House in three years is not what I think Musk needs and not what he is ready to applaud. Therefore, there are tactical differences, and there are strategic things, and he will adhere to them, it seems to me," the parliamentarian explained.
Dmitry Novikov made these comments after Steve Bannon, a former White House strategist, called Mr Musk "an illegal alien" who should be deported from the United States. He also urged the US government to seize the tech billionaire's company, SpaceX.
Mr Bannon, one of Elon Musk's most vocal critics, said, "They [US government] should initiate a formal investigation of his immigration status because I am of the strong belief that he is an illegal alien, and he should be deported from the country immediately."
His statement came after Mr Musk threatened to shut down SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft that carries astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS). Bannon argued this could be a serious threat to the country, so Donald Trump should sign an order under the Defence Production Act to take over SpaceX immediately.
According to the Moscow Times, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the dispute when asked on Friday.
"This is a domestic issue of the United States, and we don't intend to interfere," Peskov told reporters. "We're confident the Us president will handle this situation on his own."
Russia has previously granted asylum to US whistleblower Edward Snowden and pro-Kremlin British blogger Graham Phillips.
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