Pavel Durov: Kremlin tries to allay Telegram security fears after founder Durov’s arrest in France

Paris
CNN
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The Kremlin is trying to allay fears that the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov in France could upend the messaging platform, which is hugely popular in Russia and plays a key role in coordinating the war effort in Ukraine.

Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that calls for the app’s users to delete their sensitive posts, including those from the editor-in-chief of Russia’s state news channel RT, were “completely stupid.”

Peskov added that while the allegations against Durov, who was born in Russia but also holds French and UAE citizenship, were “serious,” French authorities would have to present “equally serious” evidence to support them.

“Otherwise, there will be a direct attempt to restrict freedom of communication. We could even talk about direct intimidation of the head of a large company. Which means that there will be politics at play, which Mr. Macron denied yesterday,” Mr. Peskov said.

The Kremlin’s decision to allay concerns about Telegram’s future security underscores the app’s importance to the Russian military.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that the decision to file charges against Durov was “in no way political,” a rare move as French leaders often avoid discussing criminal cases to avoid any suggestion of political influence over judicial matters.

The Paris prosecutor’s office announced a series of charges against Durov on Monday, including helping his platform launder money, traffic drugs and distribute child pornography. The prosecutor’s office also accuses Durov of refusing to comply with a request from French authorities to intercept potentially illicit communications.

At a press conference in Moscow following talks with his Yemeni counterpart on Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed, without evidence, that “Durov was clearly taken away on someone’s advice and is being threatened with terrible punishment, apparently hoping to somehow gain access to the encryption codes.”

With nearly 950 million users, Telegram is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world. Its end-to-end encryption, limited content moderation, and features (it lets users share larger files, longer videos, and higher-quality photos than many of its competitors) have made it hugely popular in countries where freedom of expression is restricted and in war zones, including Ukraine, where it has become a key tool for Ukrainian officials to share military updates and warnings about airstrikes.

“It’s very convenient, it’s very safe,” Lavrov said.

These same features have also made Telegram a key communications tool for the Russian military and pro-Kremlin bloggers. One popular Russian pro-war blogger with over 780,000 followers re-shared a post claiming that France’s decision to arrest Durov meant “in essence that the head of communications for the Russian armed forces was being detained.”

Another lesser-followed military blogger posted a photo with the words “for Pavel” on a missile presumably destined for Ukraine, which was hit on Monday in the largest airstrike since the start of the war.

Blogger Alexei Sukonkin has said that Telegram is “the basis of military communications,” although Russian government officials publicly dispute this claim.

“Telegram is a powerful alternative to official information channels and, of course, more effective. Telegram is also the main civilian messaging service in Russia, virtually uncontrolled by Western intelligence agencies, as well as a powerful advertising tool and a platform for personal blogs,” Sukonkin said. “All of this is under threat.”

Telegram’s popularity among pro-Russian military bloggers and the Kremlin’s active support for Durov are somewhat surprising given that the tech entrepreneur refused to provide Moscow with user data from his previous venture, a Facebook-like social media network called Vkontakte (VK).

Durov later resigned as CEO of VK and sold his shares for millions of dollars. He and Telegram are now based in Dubai.

CNN’s Clare Duffy contributed to this report.