Telegram founder says he rejected a Western request to silence conservative voices in Romania

The founder of the Telegram messaging app said on Sunday he had refused a request by a Western government, which he did not name but appeared to imply was France, to silence conservative voices in Romania ahead of a presidential election run-off there.

Romanians were voting on Sunday in a run-off that pits a hard-right eurosceptic against a centrist independent. The outcome of the contest will have significant implications for both Romania’s struggling economy and European Union unity.

The vote takes place nearly six months after the initial ballot…