Scholz to Bystron: Don't take the report lightly. If you listen to what AfD representatives in the Bundestag and elsewhere said about questions of the European security order, it sounds “very similar” to the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Scholz.

The AfD leadership is sticking by its European election candidate for the time being. “At this point in time, the federal executive board must assume that Mr. Bystroon is innocent,” said party leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla.