Following the arrest of Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram, and Russian-born tech entrepreneur, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has described the French investigation as an extension of Western efforts to exert control over Russia.
Lavrov, who said this during a speech at the MGIMO University, suggested that Durov’s laissez-faire approach to managing Telegram — valued by its nearly one billion users for its emphasis on privacy and freedom of speech — has made him a target for Western powers.
“Pavel Durov was too free,” Lavrov stated, implying that the tech mogul’s refusal to conform to Western norms on content moderation has impacted his current predicament.
The Kremlin has also noted its unease over Durov’s detention. Per Reuters, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, downplayed any suggestion that negotiations were underway between the Russian government and Durov, who holds citizenship in both France and the United Arab Emirates.
Nonetheless, Peskov pointed to the importance of ensuring that the investigations in France do not devolve into a politically motivated pursuit.
Despite the serious allegations, Durov’s lawyer has dismissed the charges as baseless, arguing that holding the tech entrepreneur accountable for the actions of users on Telegram is unreasonable.
The defence points to the sheer scale of the platform and the impossibility of monitoring every interaction on it.
French President Emmanuel Macron has attempted to distance himself from any political undertones in Durov’s arrest, denying that the case is driven by anything other than legal issues.
However, Lavrov’s statements, coupled with the Kremlin’s cautious stance, point to the fact that the situation has further strained relations between Russia and France, pushing diplomatic ties to a new low.
