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Foreign Minister Baerbock at NATO headquarters in Brussels
Photo: Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP
The AfD member of the Bundestag Petr Bystron is suspected of having received money from Russia. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock sees hybrid warfare by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin behind the affair. The approach is aimed at hollowing out and undermining democracies in Europe from within, said the Green politician on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels. Fake news and disinformation are intended to divide societies. "And we see that these attacks have also taken place on Germany in the past, with a view to disinformation, with a view to cyber attacks," she added.
When asked about possible concrete consequences, Baerbock initially did not give an answer. She simply stated in general that it was important to be even more vigilant and to protect ourselves against this hybrid warfare at different levels.
Petr Bystron is running as an AfD candidate in the European elections.
According to research by SPIEGEL and the Czech newspaper "Denik N", Bystron is suspected of having been in contact with the pro-Russian Internet platform "Voice of Europe", which the Prague cabinet recently placed on the national sanctions list. He may also have accepted money. Bystron's name was said to have been mentioned at the cabinet meeting, the newspaper reported, citing several ministers. An unnamed government member said with reference to Bystron, citing the domestic secret service BIS: "You can provide audio evidence of the handover of money."
Bystron had told the dpa news agency that these were “unproven accusations and claims.” And: "I have nothing to blame myself for." He told the newspapers of the Funke media group: "I did not accept any money to represent pro-Russian positions." Next Monday there will be a personal conversation between him, the party leaders and their deputies. The AfD's top candidate in the European elections, Maximilian Krah, told the "Welt" that Bystron should not make any election campaign appearances until the allegations in the room have been clarified.
lpz/dpa