PANews reported on August 30 that according to Bitcoin.com, Russia warned the French government not to take political action in the case of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, and that France's criminal charges against Durov could be seen as "political persecution." Durov is a Russian-born French citizen who was detained in Paris on suspicion of failing to control illegal content on the information platform. He has been released on bail, but must stay in France and report to the police regularly.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin recognized Durov's Russian citizenship and was willing to provide him with assistance.