Thierry Baudet had ties to Russia, according to a TV investigation Dutch far-right leader Baudet had ties to Russia, report says Thierry Baudet says messages were merely ‘playful exaggeration.’

The Dutch far-right politician who led a campaign against a deal to strengthen ties between the EU and Ukraine sent WhatsApp messages that appear to show he was paid by a Russian with ties to Vladimir Putin, according to a TV investigation.

Dutch investigative TV program Zembla said Thierry Baudet, leader of the anti-EU, anti-immigrant Forum for Democracy (FvD) party, sent messages to a colleague about Vladimir Kornilov — who, according to a New York Times article from 2017, has ties to the Kremlin — ahead of a 2016 referendum on a deal with Ukraine. In his messages, Baudet described Kornilov as "a Russian who works for Putin." Kornilov denies having ties to the Kremlin.

During the referendum campaign, Baudet sent messages to Henk Otten — former treasurer of the FvD, who was expelled from the party last year — saying that he wanted to stop working as a commentator on the TV network Powned. "Maybe Kornilov wants to pay some extra," said one of the messages. Another thanked Otten for his support, saying "Kornilov cannot compete with that with all his money." Both messages were accompanied with winking and smiling emojis.

In a statement published before the TV program aired on Thursday evening, Baudet denied the allegations and said the statements about Kornilov were part of a "running gag" and were "playful exaggeration."

"Undoubtedly, from a period of several years and several very intensive campaigns, a large number of statements can be found, made in internal WhatsApp groups or in other contexts, which are difficult to place, seem serious or, on the contrary, are difficult to take seriously. Sometimes we blew off steam in a message. Sometimes we got carried away," he said.

Inspired by the U.K.'s vote to leave the EU, FvD — which was established in 2016 — launched a petition against the so-called association agreement with Kyiv. It was the first referendum to take place under a Dutch law that obliges the government to call a public vote on any petition that gets the support of 300,000 people.

The organizers said their main objective was to thwart "undemocratic decision-making" in Brussels. Dutch voters opposed the deal by a margin of almost two to one.

Although the referendum was nonbinding, it was an embarrassment for Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who had to go back to Brussels for reassurances that the agreement would not lead to automatic EU membership for Ukraine and would not commit member countries to financially support the country.

Baudet's upstart party stunned the Dutch political establishment again in 2019 by winning the most votes in provincial elections, putting it ahead of Rutte's liberal VVD. During the European Parliament election in May, Baudet's party came fourth in the Netherlands, winning three seats.

The leaked messages revealed by Zembla also show Baudet wanted to push for a Dutch exit from NATO, despite the party suggesting in its election program that the Dutch contribution to the alliance should be increased.

Baudet has strongly opposed EU sanctions on Russia after the occupation of the Crimea in 2014. In its 2017 election program, FvD proposed a "normalization of relations with Russia" and Baudet has repeatedly disputed the Dutch government's criticism of Russia over the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014.