Vladimir Putin did not meet with the founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app Pavel Durov during his visit to Baku last week, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a press briefing on Monday.
Durov was arrested on Saturday evening upon arrival at Le Bourget Airport in Paris after flying to the French capital from Azerbaijan, with no official reason yet given by the French authorities for his arrest. The Paris Prosecutor’s Office is expected to make a statement on the Durov case later on Monday.
However, Peskov refrained from making an official statement on the arrest of the 39-year-old tech billionaire.
“We do not know yet what exactly Durov is accused of. We have not yet heard any official statements on the matter, and before saying anything, we need to wait for the situation to become clearer,” Peskov said, adding that “without knowing exactly what they are trying to incriminate Durov with, it would be wrong to make statements”.