<p>Moscow: The founder of the Telegram messaging app, Pavel Durov, said on Sunday he had refused a request by a Western government, which he did not name, to "silence" conservative voices in Romania ahead of a presidential election run-off there.</p><p>Romanians were voting on Sunday in a run-off that pits a hard-right eurosceptic against a centrist independent. The outcome of the contest will have significant implications for both Romania's struggling economy and European Union unity.</p><p>The vote takes place nearly six months after the initial ballot was cancelled because of alleged Russian interference - denied by Moscow - in favour of far-right frontrunner Calin Georgescu, who was banned from standing again.</p><p>"A Western European government... approached Telegram, asking us to silence conservative voices in Romania ahead of today's presidential elections. I flatly refused," Durov wrote on Telegram.</p>.South Korea's presidential candidates clash over economy in first debate.<p>"Telegram will not restrict the freedoms of Romanian users or block their political channels," Durov said, adding to his post an emoji of a baguette which might hint at France.</p><p>"You can't 'defend democracy' by destroying democracy. You can't 'fight election interference' by interfering with elections. You either have freedom of speech and fair elections — or you don't. And the Romanian people deserve both," he said.</p><p>Durov, born in Russia but now a French national, was detained last year in France amid an investigation into crimes related to child pornography, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions associated with the app.</p><p>In March Durov, who denied any wrongdoing, returned to Dubai. Telegram is widely used in Russia, including by the authorities and officials, and in Eastern Europe. </p>
<p>Moscow: The founder of the Telegram messaging app, Pavel Durov, said on Sunday he had refused a request by a Western government, which he did not name, to "silence" conservative voices in Romania ahead of a presidential election run-off there.</p><p>Romanians were voting on Sunday in a run-off that pits a hard-right eurosceptic against a centrist independent. The outcome of the contest will have significant implications for both Romania's struggling economy and European Union unity.</p><p>The vote takes place nearly six months after the initial ballot was cancelled because of alleged Russian interference - denied by Moscow - in favour of far-right frontrunner Calin Georgescu, who was banned from standing again.</p><p>"A Western European government... approached Telegram, asking us to silence conservative voices in Romania ahead of today's presidential elections. I flatly refused," Durov wrote on Telegram.</p>.South Korea's presidential candidates clash over economy in first debate.<p>"Telegram will not restrict the freedoms of Romanian users or block their political channels," Durov said, adding to his post an emoji of a baguette which might hint at France.</p><p>"You can't 'defend democracy' by destroying democracy. You can't 'fight election interference' by interfering with elections. You either have freedom of speech and fair elections — or you don't. And the Romanian people deserve both," he said.</p><p>Durov, born in Russia but now a French national, was detained last year in France amid an investigation into crimes related to child pornography, drug trafficking and fraudulent transactions associated with the app.</p><p>In March Durov, who denied any wrongdoing, returned to Dubai. Telegram is widely used in Russia, including by the authorities and officials, and in Eastern Europe. </p>