“Western Institutions Should Beware of Whitewashing of Putin’s Henchman” Says Ukrainian MP in a Brussels Press Conference

A press conference on hybrid warfare and Kremlin propaganda at the Press Club Brussels on 17th June heard Ukrainian MP Yuri Kamelchuk saying that Russia has dramatically increased its efforts to influence EU and US elections through bribery, espionage, propaganda and the spread of disinformation.

“We have already grown accustomed to these typical Russian methods but there are new methods against which the free world is defenceless, and which can fool even the most experienced as exemplified by the recent nomination of Vladimir Putin’s henchman Ruben Vardanyan for Nobel Peace Prize”, he went on.

The Russian-Armenian oligarch stands accused of laundering money and transferring funds to Putin’s associates. Being on the sanctions list of the EU, US and Ukraine, Vardanyan appears on Ukraine’s peacemaker database subject to immediate detention and transfer to law enforcement authorities of Ukraine and NATO.

“Vardanyan’s example sets a precedent” warned Kamelchuk. “This is how Russia exerts influence on Western institutions, such as the Nobel Committee, to whitewash Kremlin’s man flirting with Iran and under sanctions by Western countries”.

Replying to questions from the audience, Kamelchuk stressed that the media should not take Vardanyan’s nomination so seriously and spread such news across Europe, especially given the fact that the primary source of information was Sputnik News and the RBC, which is owned by a Russian oligarch also under sanctions.

Referring to a collective letter calling on the Nobel Committee to reject Vardanyan’s nomination, which was signed by 123 Ukrainian, Romanian, Lithuanian and Latvian MPs, Kamelchuk underlined the need for some kind of special intelligence to help journalists and civil society to check the background of the nominees while raising awareness in media in order to avoid situations where the interests of aggressor states, such as Russia, risk being promoted via prestigious Western institutions.

This should not only be the case for the Nobel Prize but also for all awards in science, sports, literature, music and films.

MEP Karen Melchior (Renew, Denmark) commented that a list of criteria on who can be nominated for the Nobel Prize should be established while introducing rules or frames on those who nominate the candidates.

“Should members of countries invading other countries and undermining peace and democracy in the West be allowed to nominate people or to be nominated for the Nobel Prize? Perhaps not.”, she added.

Underlining Russian infiltration in the elections in Denmark with two parties nominating pro-Russian candidates, Melchior stated: “30 percent of the French population voted for the RN, a party that paid off €6 million of Russian loan. In the US, we have a presidential candidate who is dependent on Russian loans. These connections and support for Russia should not be forgotten.”

She further suggested background checks on European Parliament staff and proper implementation of the Digital Services Act to counter Russian influence in Western institutions and in social media.

Highlighting the role of the Russian disinformation and destabilisation campaigns in the rise of far-right parties, such as the AfD, in Germany, MEP Viola Von Cramon-Taubadel (Greens, Germany) said: “Russia twisted around the whole narrative to obtain public support for the aggressor instead of the occupied state, which is unacceptable”.

Giving the example of the knife attacks by Afghan refugees before the European elections, Cramon-Taubadel said that the involvement of Russian intelligence services in such attacks should not be excluded, therefore calling for investigation, prosecution and intelligence tasks specialised in identifying potential Russian agents underlining democracy in Germany and Europe.