"Entirely fabricated. Work of fiction or wishful thinking from these Russian people," Rougier told Rolling Stone, while neither Sudan nor Balber responded to the request for comment.
Emin Agalarov's publicist Rob Goldstone confirmed to the magazine that "there are talks going on."
On Tuesday, music magazine Billboard reported, citing West's confidant Ameer Sudan, that the performer is planning to go to Russia this year, meet with Putin, and hold his first performances and expand his ventures in the country. Sudan claimed to be planning the visit with lawyer Scott Balber, who works for Azerbaijani-Russian real estate billionaire Aras Agalarov and his son Emin, himself a popular singer.
In October 2021, media reported that West changed had his name to Ye, with no middle or last names.