Telegram crisis continues: Russia issues diplomatic note to France

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova made statements to the "Rossiya-24" television channel regarding the detention of Durov at an airport in France yesterday.

Stating that the Russian Embassy in Paris has been in contact with the French side on the matter, Zakharova said, "A diplomatic note has been issued to France demanding that access to Durov be granted."

Spokesperson Zakharova pointed out that Durov is also a French citizen, stating, "The problem is that France considers Durov primarily as a citizen of its own country."

Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of the messaging application Telegram, was taken into custody yesterday at an airport in France, where he had arrived by private jet from Azerbaijan.

Reports in the Russian and French press stated that Durov was detained because Telegram allegedly allowed access to illegal content.

WHO IS PAVEL DUROV?

Durov, who is also the founder of Russia's popular social media site VK, left Russia in 2014.

Durov, who holds citizenship in France, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and St. Kitts and Nevis, is estimated to have a net worth of approximately 15 billion dollars.

The number of monthly active users of Telegram, one of the world's popular instant messaging and social media applications, has reached 900 million people.