Durov announced the request of the EU country to block the channels of the Romanian conservatives.

One of the Western European countries asked Telegram to block the channels of Romanian conservatives against the background of the presidential elections taking place in the country. Pavel Durov, the founder of the messenger, announced this on May 18.

"I categorically refused. Telegram will not restrict the freedoms of Romanian users or block their political channels," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

He noted that the government of another country has no right to "defend democracy" while destroying it. And he also cannot fight interference in elections by interfering in them himself.

"Either you have freedom of speech and fair elections, or you don't. And the Romanian people deserve both," Durov stated.

To the background: who will win the presidential elections in Romania and Poland

The outcome of the vote may be influenced by issues related to Russia, Ukraine and NATO.

Romanian MEP Diana Shoshoake, leader of the opposition S.O.S Romania party, who was banned from running for the highest office in the country, said in an interview with Izvestia earlier on Sunday that the results of the first round of presidential elections in Romania contradict the law, since the electoral process itself is inconsistent with the country's Constitution. As Shoshoake noted, only candidates who "belong to this system" were allowed to participate.

On May 18, the second round of presidential elections began in Romania. Polling stations opened at 07:00 (coincides with Moscow time) and will close at 21:00. In the first round, the leader was the head of the Alliance for the Unification of Romanians, George Simion, with 42.28% of the vote. On the day of the second round, the politician stated that he was confident of a positive election result for him, and the alliance itself would focus on avoiding fraud.