Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of major government contractor SpaceX and a key ally of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the past two years. Wall StreetJournal reported.

A person familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, confirmed to The Associated Press that Musk and Putin communicated through calls. The person did not provide additional information about the frequency of the calls, when they occurred or their content.

Musk, the world’s richest man who also owns Tesla and social platform X, has emerged as a leading voice on the American right. He poured millions of dollars into Trump’s presidential bid and turned the platform once known as Twitter into a popular site among Trump supporters as well as conspiracy theorists, extremists and Russian propagandists.

Musk’s contacts with Putin raise national security questions given the work his companies do for the government and highlight concerns about Russia’s influence in American politics.

Here’s what you need to know:

What did they talk about

Citing multiple current and former officials in the United States, Europe and Russia, the Journal reported that Musk and Putin spoke repeatedly about personal matters, business and geopolitics.

During one conversation, Putin asked Musk not to activate the Starlink satellite system over Taiwan as a favor to Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose ties with Putin have grown closer, the Journal reported. Putin and Xi have met more than 40 times since 2013.

Russia has denied that these talks took place. Musk said he spoke to Putin only once in 2022, 18 months ago in a meeting focused on space.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington said in a statement on Friday that it was “not aware of the details” of any request Putin made on China’s behalf.

There was no immediate response to messages left by X and Tesla seeking Musk’s comment.

What do the talks mean for national security?

Musk’s relationship with Putin raises national security questions, given the multibillion-dollar government contracts awarded to SpaceX, a key partner of NASA and the government’s satellite programs.

Trump also promised to give Musk a role in his administration if he wins next month.

Former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul said it was unusual for business leaders to contact Putin without notifying US officials. Although CEOs frequently interact with foreign leaders, Putin invasion of Ukrainesaid McFaul.

“A war criminal who massacred civilians. That makes it wrong in my view,” McFaul said of Musk’s talks with Putin. “You have to decide which team you will be on. Are you on the American team or the Russian team?”

Given US support for Taiwan and concerns about the growing partnership between the Kremlin and Beijing, Putin’s request for Starlink as a favor to China is likely to attract attention.

Musk, who operates Tesla’s Gigafactory Shanghai, has developed a close relationship with China’s leaders. His remarks about China were friendly, and he suggested that Taiwan become a special administrative region, ceding some control to Beijing.

Moscow’s ties with other American adversaries are growing. The United States accused Russia of sending ballistic missiles to Iran and said North Korea was sending troops to Russia, possibly to fight in Ukraine.

Musk’s views on Ukraine have changed since he first supported Kiev following Russia’s invasion in 2022 and provided it with the Starlink system for communications.

Musk later refused to allow Ukraine to use Starlink for a surprise attack on Russian troops in Crimea in 2023.

He also floated a peace proposal that would require Ukraine to abandon its plans for NATO membership and give Russia permanent control of Crimea, which it captured in 2014. The plan infuriated Ukrainian leaders.

“The policy of the U.S. government is to try to isolate Vladimir Putin, and Elon Musk directly undermines that,” said Bradley Bowman, a former West Point assistant professor who is now senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation. For Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank.

“What is Putin doing with Musk? Bowman said Putin is trying to reduce international isolation and influence American foreign policy.

Asked about Musk’s contacts with Putin, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters Friday that he had no information to share. Pentagon and U.S. intelligence officials declined to comment. The State Department did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the Journal’s report and said Putin and Musk had an “introductory” phone call before 2022 that focused on “visionary technologies.”

“After that, Musk had no contact with Putin,” Peskov said.

Musk’s ties to Trump

Musk recently appeared at a Trump rallyWearing a Make America Great Again hat, he issued an ominous warning that if Trump loses the race, “this will be the last election.”

Musk last year mocked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s request for aid and said in February that Ukraine could not win the war.

Praising Putin’s leadership and criticizing the NATO alliance and US aid to Ukraine, Trump has raised questions about what he would agree to if elected in a negotiation on Ukraine’s future

U.S. intelligence officials and private sector analysts have concluded that Russia is secretly trying to support Trump with disinformation and propaganda targeting his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris. Since Musk took over X, it has become the leading online source of Russian propaganda and disinformation aimed at Americans.

Trump has faced scrutiny over his recent contacts with Putin, as outlined in a new book by Watergate journalist Bob Woodward.

Woodward quoted an unnamed Trump aide as saying the former president and Putin may have had as many as seven conversations since Trump lost re-election in 2020. Before one of the calls, the aide said, the two were asked to leave Trump’s office to give them privacy. Trump’s campaign and the Kremlin have denied that the calls took place.

In response to questions about Musk and Putin, Trump campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Musk a “once-in-a-generation industry leader” whose ideas could benefit “our broken federal bureaucracy.”

“President Trump has long said he would restore peace through strong foreign policy to deter Russian aggression and end the war in Ukraine,” Leavitt said in a statement.

Ukraine’s military intelligence told the AP they would “refrain from commenting” on communications between Putin and Musk.

Klepper and Mascaro write for the Associated Press. AP writers Didi Tang in Washington, Daria Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, and Illia Novikov in Kiev, Ukraine, contributed.