UAE Freezes $20B Jet Deal with France After Telegram CEO Arrest

37 points by NayamAmarshe 10 months ago | 20 comments
  • runjake 10 months ago
    In case it's not obvious:

    The Daily Guardian (India) != The Guardian (UK)

    This article is from the Daily Guardian (India), which is not a reputable source.

    • swarnie 10 months ago
      Both sources are debatable
    • NayamAmarshe 10 months ago
      Pavel Durov is personally acquainted with the son of the UAE Prime Minister.

      France just lost $10-20B over the arrest of Pavel Durov.

      • skeeter2020 10 months ago
        We both know that's not true. It's either temporary posturing or a convenient excuse.
        • GordonS 10 months ago
          The UAE always toes the line and does what it's told - it's political theatre, nothing more.
        • h1fra 10 months ago
          It's a posture, either they wanted to cancel or they just want to make a point. The deal will resume after everything settles down.

          Justice being independent is key to a sane democracy, valuing money over justice is not the take you think it is

          • KingOfCoders 10 months ago
            Yes, there are those with law-over-money and those with money-over-laws, in German the second one is often called "Realpolitik"

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realpolitik

            The only other similar jet might be the Gripen.

            • csours 10 months ago
              Money = power coupons

              International Law = game theory

            • s_dev 10 months ago
              >France just lost $10-20B over the arrest of Pavel Durov.

              That's not what 'suspended' means.

              • belter 10 months ago
                So what is Pavel Durov providing to UAE that they consider it $20B worth?
                • g42gregory 10 months ago
                  An example to the UAE citizens that their government will protect them. Sense of citizenship is worth $20B. Plus, it's not that UAE actually lost this money. Neither did France. They may lose/delay $20B in revenue.
                  • trtkaj 10 months ago
                    UAE is full of very wealthy expat Russians who have UAE citizenship. If UAE does not protect them, they might go elsewhere and take their money (which probably is at least $300B) with them.

                    UAE would not protect an ordinary citizen like this.

                  • bedobi 10 months ago
                    could this not be an "oh no! anyway" type thing? of course it probably stings and wounds their pride but they can't run their justice system on the whims of foreign governments wishes about a foreign app?

                    it's also weird that uae, russia and others rely so much on this tech, esp given that it's probably compromised (both at central level and in individual conversations and groups level) (and private key encryption is moot in the latter case) and how easy it would be to develop a homegrown secure alternative

                    • NayamAmarshe 10 months ago
                      > it's also weird that uae, russia and others rely so much on this tech

                      Because they're not gonna use american alternatives and Russia is playing politics while UAE provided refuge to Pavel Durov when he fled from Russia.

                      In fact, Russia has tried to ban Telegram in the past but accidentally ended up nuking the country's internet instead. Since then, they've lifted the ban since most people in Russia and neighbouring countries use this app.

                      It's also used widely in Iran and countries where there's government oppression.

                    • cyanydeez 10 months ago
                      If the charges are correct, theyre probably saving a lot more in the reorrism reduxtion
                      • paulpauper 10 months ago
                        It's not like it was handed a check that has been voided, and France's GDP is $3 trillion, and we're talking Saudi Arabia. I doubt major Western trading partners will defect.
                        • toyg 10 months ago
                          UAE, not Saudi.
                      • snakeyjake 10 months ago
                        Well at least this fake story was flagged very rapidly...

                        How did it get to position #1 on the front page after 13 minutes and an apparently miniscule number of votes though?

                        • minimaxir 10 months ago
                          Front page ranking is a function of both # upvotes and time. 33 upvotes in a half hour is a lot.
                        • giantrobot 10 months ago
                          What is the Daily Guardian and where's the article's references, quotes, or even links to official statements? Not to say this article isn't truthful but it seems like a big claim to make with zero sourcing.
                          • 10 months ago