MOSCOW: The Kremlin warned France on Thursday not to turn a criminal case against Telegram founder Pavel Durov into “political persecution.” Russia, which has led an unprecedented crackdown on political opponents during its Ukraine offensive, has painted Durov’s surprise arrest in Paris earlier this week as politically motivated.

France has charged Russian-born Durov — who also has French citizenship — on several counts of failing to curb extremist and illegal content on the popular social media platform. “The main thing is for what is happening in France not to run into political persecution,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

“Of course we consider him a Russian citizen and as much as possible we will be ready to provide assistance,” he added.

“We will be watching what happens next.” Durov was granted conditional release against a bail of five million euros and on the condition he must report to a police station twice a week as well as remain in France, French prosecutors said. Telegram is one of Russia’s most popular messaging apps.

Russian officials have rushed to defend Durov since he was arrested last weekend at a Paris airport.