Vladimir Putin disembarks from a plane upon his arrival to Baku, Azerbaijan, 18 August 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE/MIKHAIL TERESHCHENKO/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL
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”.
Durov, who has been based in Dubai since 2017, was in the Azerbaijani capital at the same time that Putin was there on an official visit between 17–19 August.
According to Telegram news channel Baza, Putin declined a proposal to meet with Durov, though the reason for his refusal, and the reason for the requested meeting, are unknown.
The Telegram messaging app, which Durov founded in 2013, has close to 1 billion users and is particularly popular in Russia, Ukraine and the rest of the former Soviet Union.
