MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. The decision to restrict WhatsApp (banned in Russia as it is owned by Meta, classified as extremist there) was made due to Meta's refusal to comply with Russian law, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained at a news briefing.

"As regards the blocking of WhatsApp, our regulators indeed announced such a decision and even implemented it over Meta’s reluctance to abide by the rule and letter of Russian law," he recalled.

Russia’s telecom watchdog Roskomnadzor has explained that it is taking measures to slow down WhatsApp over breaches of Russian law. It claims that the messenger has been used to organize and carry out terrorist activities in the country, and is also one of the main services used to defraud and extort money from citizens.

Peskov has told TASS in an interview that the WhatsApp service can be restored in full if the messenger complies with Russian rules and is ready for dialogue.