Kremlin denies Durov-Putin meeting claims

The Telegram CEO did not have a face-to-face discussion with the Russian leader days before his arrest in France, Dmitry Peskov says

Vladimir Putin did not have a meeting with Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, who is now in French custody, during the Russian president’s visit to Azerbaijan earlier this month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Peskov was asked to comment on the arrest of Durov, who was detained at a Paris airport after arriving from Azerbaijan by private jet on Saturday. The French authorities have yet to outline the details of charges faced by the Russian tech mogul, who is also a citizen of France, the UAE, and St. Kitts and Nevis.

Telegram has denied any wrongdoing on Durov’s part, stating that it is “absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform.” Numerous opinion leaders, both in the West and Russia, have slammed the development as a crackdown on free speech, suggesting that the US was behind the arrest.

Peskov, however, has refused to comment on the controversial arrest. “We don’t know what he’s accused of. We have not heard any official statements on the matter. We have to wait for the situation to clear up before we say anything.”

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He also dismissed media reports claiming that Durov had met with Putin during his visit to Baku on August 18 and 19. Several media outlets at the time reported that the pair were visiting the city at the same time and even claimed that they had a meeting behind the scenes. 

The Win/Win Telegram channel claimed that Durov “was only introduced to Vladimir Putin” and that they “had a five-minute conversation.” However, according to the report, Durov had much more substantive talks with senior Kremlin officials.

The Baza Telegram channel, however, offered a different version of events, reporting that Russian officials had suggested that Putin would meet with Durov in Baku, but that the president had refused.