Pavel Durov, the creator of the Telegram messaging platform, announced on Sunday that he had declined a request from an unnamed Western government to “muzzle” conservative voices in Romania as the country approached a presidential election run-off.

On Sunday, Romanian voters are casting their ballots in a run-off election that features a far-right eurosceptic against an independent centrist candidate. The result of this election is expected to have major consequences for both Romania’s struggling economy and the cohesion of the European Union.

This vote takes place nearly six months after the original election was cancelled due to alleged Russian interference, which Moscow has denied, that favored the far-right candidate Călin Georgescu, who has been barred from participating again.

“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.

“Telegram will not impose restrictions on Romanian users’ freedoms or block their political channels,” he emphasized, adding a baguette emoji, possibly alluding to France.

“You cannot ‘protect democracy’ by undermining it. You cannot ‘combat election interference’ by meddling in elections. You either uphold freedom of speech and fair elections — or you do not. The Romanian people deserve both,” he stated.

Durov, who was born in Russia but is now a French citizen, was detained last year in France as part of an investigation into alleged crimes related to child pornography, drug trafficking, and fraudulent activities linked to the app.

In March, Durov, who has denied any misconduct, returned to Dubai.