Telegram's Founder Offers to Testify on Foreign Meddling in Romania's Election

(MENAFN) Telegram founder Pavel Durov has expressed his willingness to travel to Romania and testify regarding the alleged foreign meddling in the country’s recent presidential election.

Durov made the offer to “help” the Romanian democracy on Tuesday via a post on X, responding to George Simion, a right-wing Eurosceptic candidate who narrowly lost the election. Simion had accused the election of being influenced by “external interferences by state and non-state actors,” including France and Moldova, and urged the Romanian Constitutional Court to annul the results immediately.

“I’m ready to come and testify if it helps Romanian democracy,” Durov wrote in his reply to Simion.

In the Sunday runoff, centrist pro-EU candidate Nicusor Dan triumphed with 53.6% of the vote, compared to Simion's 46.4%. Simion, however, rejected the outcome, alleging that foreign forces were attempting to sabotage his campaign.

Durov’s unexpected support for Simion’s claims comes after the Telegram founder previously stated that French foreign intelligence chief Nicolas Lerner had personally requested him to censor conservative content on the platform during the election. In response, France's Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) has denied Durov's assertions, stating that the agency’s only communication with him was to “firmly remind him of his company’s responsibilities, and his own personally, in preventing terrorist and child pornography threats.”

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