“It is possible that Mr. Durov sought a meeting with Mr. Putin in Baku a few days ago. He was refused to do so. Now there is hysteria in Russia that “Telegram, the only reliable Russian messaging app, may end up under Western control,” noted A. Kovalenka.
He added that the story with M. Durov is “a failure of Moscow, for which the entire environment of V. Putin, from (Anton) Vain to (Nikolay) Patrushev, is to blame.”
The head of CCD noted that Telegram is the number one messaging app in Ukraine. India has 300 million consumers, and “soon to be number one in South and Latin America.”
Kovalenka added that Durov’s arrest could be compared to the British hacking of Enigma in World War II and that Telegram is the only messaging app actively used by the Russian military.
“Mr. Durov is accused of not cooperating with the French police in the fight against drug smuggling. Russia may be accused of drug trafficking in Europe in the coming months. The General Staff’s Central Board is in for a tough time as it is considered to be the main ‘responsibility’ for this area of espionage,” he wrote.
In addition, A. Kovalenka added, “the entire Russian intelligence network in Europe may collapse” due to P. Durov’s case.
Arrest of Mr. Durov
As we reported earlier, French special services arrested Mr. Durov at one of the Paris airports on Saturday evening.
The arrest warrant was issued because Mr. Durov did not cooperate with French law enforcement, which allegedly makes him an accomplice to drug trafficking and other serious crimes. According to media reports, Mr. Durov faces a 20-year prison sentence.
Vladislav Davankov, the deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma, sent an appeal to the head of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, with a request to ensure Mr. Durov’s release.
The owner of the social network “X” Elon Musk reacted to Mr. Durov’s arrest by posting an ironic comment on his page. Mr. Musk also published the hashtag “Free Pavel” on his “X” page and added an interview with Mr. Durov by the infamous Republican journalist Tucker Carlson.
2024-08-26 02:13:34