MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th July, 2020) The Kremlin appreciates the participation of the Telegram messenger's team in discussions on the IT sector, whose development is seen as a priority in Russia, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
On Thursday, Russia's Tatarstan hosted an IT panel discussion, which was attended by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. During the session, Telegram Vice President Ilya Perekopsky called on Russia to join the fight against the 30 percent sales tax levied by US tech giants Google and Apple on all digital goods sold on every mobile phone in the world.
"We know that within the framework of current legislation, Telegram is now operating freely in the Russian Federation, and we are happy about this. We are also glad that representatives of the company take part in such discussions and events, which were organized by our government in Tatarstan. We believe that this is very useful," Peskov said when asked to comment on the current trend in relations between the government and the Telegram team.
The official went on to note that President Vladimir Putin sees the development of the IT sector as one of the priorities.
"When the most talented and successful take part in discussions in this area, it is for the benefit of all of us," Peskov added.
In June, Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor lifted the ban on Telegram in the country, citing the messenger's readiness to cooperate on countering terrorism and extremism. Telegram was blocked in April 2018 over the refusal to provide encryption keys to Russian security services amid concerns that the messenger could be used by terrorists or criminals. The app has remained widely accessible from Russia, despite the ban.
