MOSCOW: The Kremlin has never made any deals with Telegram boss Pavel Durov, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday, adding that he was not aware of any meetings between the tech entrepreneur and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A French judge put Russian-born Durov under formal investigation on Wednesday for suspected complicity in running an online platform that allows illicit transactions, child sex abuse images, drug trafficking and fraud.
Durov’s lawyer said on Thursday it was “absurd” to suggest he should be held responsible for any crimes committed on the app.
“There were no negotiations between Durov and the Kremlin,” Peskov told reporters. “And the fact that he visited Russia, well, he is a Russian citizen, he moves freely, so naturally he visited Russia.
“There were no deals between the Kremlin and Durov,” Peskov said in response to further questions.
Peskov said that as far as he was aware, Putin and Durov had never met.
Russia, after years of pressure on Durov and his tech ventures, has rallied behind him, with Peskov this week saying that the case against him should not become political persecution.
Moscow tried and failed to block Telegram, which has almost 1 billion users, in 2018, and has demanded the platform hand over data in the past, something Durov says he refused to do.
The case has plunged Franco-Russian relations to new lows, according to Moscow, where some pro-Kremlin figures have accused Washington of being behind the detention of Durov, something Paris has denied.
Kremlin says it made no deals with Telegram boss Durov
https://arab.news/jw69v
Kremlin says it made no deals with Telegram boss Durov
- Durov under formal French investigation for suspected complicity in running an online platform that allows illicit transactions, child sex abuse images, drug trafficking and fraud
KFC Arabia and TBWA\RAAD’s Saudi campaign wins big at TikTok Ad Awards 2025
DUBAI: TikTok announced the winners of the TikTok Ad Awards 2025 at a ceremony held at the King Abdullah Financial District Conference Center in Riyadh on Wednesday, celebrating advertising campaigns on the platform from across the Middle East.
The top honor, G.O.A.T. (“Greatest of All Time”), which celebrates the best overall campaign combining creativity, media performance and proven effectiveness, went to the Saudi campaign “Om Bdr — 12th Ingredient,” developed by TBWA\RAAD for KFC Arabia.
The campaign was born out of Saudi user behavior on TikTok, which saw users dusting a seasoning created by a local cook named Om Bdr onto their KFC chicken. Picking up on this trend, KFC partnered with Om Bdr, adding her seasoning as its unofficial 12th spice.
Instead of focusing on trends or virality, the brand listened to its audience and “made the creator a partner,” said Ahmed Arafa, chief marketing officer at KFC Arabia.
He added: “This campaign was about respecting where the idea came from, crediting the community that discovered it, and turning cultural momentum into something real. Om Bdr’s seasoning belonged on our menu because our customers put it there first.”
The campaign emphasized authenticity, moving away from high-production studio shoots to filming inside actual KFC outlets, with minimal setup and featuring Om Bdr as herself.
As a result, KFC Arabia recorded its highest sales mix to date, while Om Bdr sold out of her own seasoning following the campaign.
“Om Bdr — 12th Ingredient” also won Gold in the Goal Digger category, which celebrates work that delivers measurable results, and Silver in the Community Core category, which highlights campaigns driven by creator and community collaborations.
The two firms also collaborated on another campaign, “Nuggets — Nugg it. Dip it. Crunch it.”, which ran across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, and won Bronze in the Sound On category.
The campaign centered on a looping audio track paired with videos focusing on picking, dipping and eating a nugget.
TikTok said the campaign promoted creator participation, with users adapting and reworking the audio in ways that felt native to the platform.
Saudi-based creative agency Habbar’s campaign, “14 Feb: Judgement Day!”, for online gift delivery service Floward, won Silver in the Goal Digger category.
The campaign took a humor-led approach to reflect the pressure and last-minute decision-making often associated with Valentine’s Day gifting, using creator collaborations and video formats designed to encourage sharing and commenting.
Other notable campaigns included “My Like First” by Lux, which ran in Saudi Arabia and the UAE and won Gold in the Community Core category, as well as “How I Crunch It” by Bugles, created by MRM and UM, which won Bronze in the Sound On category.
“The Ad Awards winners of this year show what’s possible when brands embrace TikTok not just as a media platform, but as a creative canvas,” said Shadi Kandil, general manager of global business solutions for the Middle East, Turkiye, Africa, Central and South Asia at TikTok.
