MPs will decide on Tuesday whether to deny Forum voor Democratie MPs access to confidential briefings about the war in Ukraine because of the party’s links to Russia.

Thierry Baudet is the only party leader in favour of the war and has recently described Vladimir Putin as a ‘great guy’. He has also described Russia’s actions in Ukraine as ‘extremely mild’.

MPs will vote on a motion drawn up by GroenLinks to keep Baudet out of confidential meetings on Ukraine because he ‘spreads Putin’s propaganda’.

No-one has yet confirmed that Baudet has had Russian money but according to the Dutch press, he has two advisors with close links to the Kremlin – Vladimir Kornilov and John Laughland.

Kornilov turned up in the Netherlands around 2015, where he was influential during the Ukraine referendum and appeared on television outlining his opposition to closer ties between the EU and Ukraine.

The two had close contact and in 2020, television show Zembla published Whatsapp messages in which Baudet spoke about getting money from Kornilov, messages the Forum leader dismissed as ‘ironic’.

Admiration

Baudet has also expressed his admiration for British philosopher John Laughland, a long-term defender of eastern European authoritarian leaders. Baudet quoted Laughland extensively in his doctoral thesis and later said he had written much of it with him.

Laughland regularly writes for the FvD international website,  and but declined to comment on his relationship with Baudet, when asked about them by Nu.nl.

Last week MPs voted in favour of a motion to find out if Russia is financing Dutch political parties, a move supported by Baudet who said he has nothing to hide.

Figures from 2020 show that FvD receives more funding from abroad than any other political party with €250,000 coming from a Dutch businessman in Hong Kong, news agency ANP reported earlier this month.