German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said in an interview with BILD that potential ministers from Alternative for Germany (AfD), if the party takes part in state governments, should be denied access to classified information.

He emphasized that the issue of access to classified data is already being carefully worked out from the standpoint of national security.

“We are intensively dealing with the question of whom we can grant access to classified information. We are already doing this now. We are obliged to do this because it concerns the security of our country,” Pistorius said.

Answering the question of whether handing classified data to an AfD minister would cause him concern, he said that such fears do exist.

“You only need to listen to the public statements of many AfD representatives. Their closeness to Putin is impossible to overlook. There are also assumptions about possible financing from Russia. Obviously, this must not be allowed,” the minister noted.

Pistorius also expressed concern about the possible results of the elections in Saxony-Anhalt, where the AfD could gain significant influence, stressing that this would be “a very bad signal” for democracy.

At the same time, he added that the final choice remains with the citizens, including service members who vote for the AfD.