Moscow claims Paris detained Telegram creator to interfere in Romanian election

2025-05-26 03:22:33

(MENAFN) Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has claimed that French President Emmanuel Macron orchestrated the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov to meddle in Romania’s electoral process. Zakharova argued that the move was not intended to address issues related to Telegram itself but to manipulate the Romanian elections, fearing that the liberal candidate couldn't win fairly.

Durov had earlier stated that French authorities questioned him on election-related matters. He also cited Romanian journalist Marius Tuca, noting that Nicolas Lerner, the head of France’s foreign intelligence agency (DGSE), visited Romania just two days before the elections. Durov accused Lerner of asking him to suppress conservative voices on Telegram during the Romanian campaign, a claim the DGSE has denied.

Durov, a Russian-born entrepreneur whose company is based in Dubai, was arrested in France in August on charges related to crimes allegedly committed by Telegram users. He was released on €5 million bail in March and permitted to leave France.

This controversy follows a contentious Romanian presidential election. The Constitutional Court annulled the first round held in November 2024 after claiming that right-wing independent candidate Calin Georgescu gained an unfair advantage due to Russian interference. Georgescu was disqualified from the re-run.

In the second round, held recently, conservative and EU-skeptic candidate George Simion narrowly lost to pro-EU Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan. Simion disputed the results, alleging foreign interference, but his appeal was rejected unanimously by the Constitutional Court.

In response to the controversy, Durov expressed willingness to testify before Romanian authorities about his interactions with French officials, saying he would do so "if it helps Romanian democracy." Meanwhile, Russia dismissed Romania’s accusations of Kremlin interference as baseless and mocked the country’s electoral process.

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