• German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius aims to prevent far-right AfD party from accessing classified information due to its ties to Russia.
• The AfD, Germany's largest opposition party, is under investigation by domestic intelligence services for its extremist anti-immigrant views.
• Mainstream parties in Germany refuse to collaborate with the AfD, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz rejecting any potential partnership.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius wants to prevent the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party from accessing classified information should it enter government.

Pistorius cited the party's close ties to Russia as the reason.

He told Sunday's edition of the mass-circulation Bild newspaper the party's proximity to Russian President Vladimir Putin was undeniable.

Sensitive information must not fall into the wrong hands, Pistorius said.

"We are intensively examining the question of to whom we can grant access to classified information. We are already doing this. We are obliged to do so because it concerns the security of our country."

The AfD, Germany's largest opposition party, is under investigation by the domestic intelligence services of some federal states for its extremist anti-immigrant views.

All mainstream parties in Germany refuse to collaborate with the AfD in a policy known as the "firewall." Chancellor Friedrich Merz has repeatedly rejected working with the party.

The AfD is hoping to win an absolute majority in September's regional elections in the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a result that could allow it to govern a German federal state for the first time.