Paris (CNN) –– The Kremlin is seeking to calm fears that the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov in France could affect the messaging platform, which is extremely 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 users to delete sensitive messages on the app, including those from the editor of Russian state news outlet RT, were “absolutely stupid.”
Peskov added that while the allegations against Durov, who was born in Russia but also has citizenship in France and the United Arab Emirates, were “serious,” French authorities would have to present “equally serious” evidence to back them up.
“Otherwise, this will be a direct attempt to restrict freedom of communication. We could even say that this will be a direct intimidation of the head of a large company. In other words, there will be politics involved, something that Mr Macron denied yesterday,” Peskov said.
Russia and France in conflict over arrest of Telegram founder?
The Kremlin's decision to allay concerns about Telegram's future security underscores how important the app has become to the Russian military.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that the decision to press charges against Durov was “in no way political,” a rare statement since French leaders often avoid discussing criminal cases to avoid any suggestion that politics influence judicial matters.
On Monday, the Paris prosecutor's office announced a series of charges against Durov, including accusations that his platform was complicit in helping money launderers, drug traffickers and people who spread child pornography. Prosecutors also accused Durov of refusing to comply with French authorities' demand to help intercept potentially illicit communications.
Following talks with his Yemeni counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed, without evidence, at a press conference that “they clearly kidnapped Durov on someone’s advice and are threatening him with dire punishment, apparently in the hope of somehow gaining access to encryption codes.”
With around 950 million users, Telegram is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world. Its strong end-to-end encryption, content-limiting moderation, and functionality (allowing users to share larger files, longer videos, and higher-quality photos than many of its competitors) have made it extremely popular both in countries where freedom of expression is restricted and in war zones like Ukraine, where it has become a vital tool for Ukrainian officials to share military updates and warnings about airstrikes.
“It is very convenient and very safe,” Lavrov said.
Those same features also made Telegram a key communications tool for the Russian military and pro-Kremlin bloggers. One popular pro-war Russian blogger with more than 780,000 followers shared a post saying that France’s decision to arrest Durov meant that “in essence, the head of communications for the Russian Armed Forces was detained.”
Another less-followed military blogger posted a photo with the words “for Pavel” on a missile allegedly destined for Ukraine, which was hit Monday by the largest airstrike since the war began.
Blogger Aleksei Sukonkin has said that Telegram is “the foundation of military communications,” although Russian government officials publicly dispute that claim.
“Telegram is a powerful alternative to the official information system and, of course, a more efficient source of information; Telegram is also the main civilian messaging service in Russia, practically uncontrolled by Western intelligence services, as well as a powerful source of advertising and a platform for personal blogs,” Sukonkin said. “All of this is in jeopardy.”
Telegram's popularity among pro-Russian military bloggers and the Kremlin's active support for Durov are somewhat surprising considering that the tech entrepreneur refused to provide Moscow with user data from his previous company, a Facebook-like social network called Vkontakte (VK).
Durov subsequently resigned as CEO of VK and sold his shares for millions of dollars. Both he and Telegram are now based in Dubai.
–– CNN’s Clare Duffy contributed to this report.
