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Medvedev sees Telegram CEO’s desire to be ‘global citizen’ as mistake

Durov, who holds a French passport, was arrested at Le Bourget Airport outside Paris late on August 24

MOSCOW, August 25. /TASS/. The Telegram messaging service’s founder Pavel Durov, who has been arrested in France, made a mistake when he left Russia to become "a global citizen," Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said.

He recalled having a conversation with Durov who was reluctant to cooperate with law enforcement agencies on serious offenses and eventually left Russia. "He wanted to be a global citizen who is fine living away from his homeland," Medvedev noted.

"He miscalculated. The enemies that we now have in common see him as a Russian, and, therefore, unpredictable and dangerous," Medvedev noted. "It is high time Durov understood that one can choose neither the home country nor the times that one is born into," he added.

Durov, who holds a French passport, was arrested at Le Bourget Airport outside Paris late on August 24. According to the French media outlets, he may be charged with terrorism, drug trafficking, fraud, and child pornography.