SP’er Tiny Kox named in leaked report as ‘contact’ Russian spy

London-based organization Dossier Center, headed by oligarch and Putin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, released alleged intelligence reports this week. published by former Russian diplomat Valery Levitsky. He worked for years in France, but was expelled from the country in 2018 for spying for Russia’s GRU intelligence service. In reports, including NRC cannot establish its authenticity, Levitsky describes PS member Tiny Kox as his “contact” at the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly.

Kox was for many years the leader of the European United Left in this body – not part of the EU – which monitors respect for human rights in member countries. Kox has been chair of the assembly since the beginning of this year.

According to the documents, Levitsky claims he was the first to come up with the idea of ​​nominating Kox as a presidential candidate. He reportedly offered this to former General Secretary Bruno Aller in August 2017. “I called him Kox. At first, he objected that the leader of the left would never lead the meeting… On reflection, Bruno accepted: in the absence of other strong personalities, Tini’s candidacy is preferred,” the report states.

purely friendly

A few days later, Levitsky reportedly also discussed the candidacy with CDA’s Rene van der Linden. Van der Linden is a former secretary of state for foreign affairs, who chaired the assembly between 2005 and 2008. According to the documents, Levitsky advocated for Kox during a summer 2017 visit to Van der Linden in France. . “I spent Saturday with René at his estate in Savoie,” the report read. When asked, Van der Linden admits having received the Russian during his vacation. “It was purely friendly. We didn’t talk for a single moment about the assembly,” says Van der Linden who, like Bruno Aller, maintained contacts in Strasbourg after his retirement.

Van der Linden arrived earlier discredit when, as ambassador of the province of Limburg, he especially strengthened ties with Azerbaijan, known for its human rights violations, for 116,160 euros. Van der Linden was on good terms with the dictator Ilham Aliyev and in a short time led six Limburg trade missions to that country.

It would not have been illogical for the Russians to want to see Kox president of the Strasbourg assembly. At the end of 2017, the PS was one of the initiators of a consultation in Paris between Russian deputies and parliamentarians on the restoration of the right to vote to Russians. “European governments have never wanted to take away the right to vote from Russia. It is therefore not up to the assembly to do so. So Kox at the time.

He was the secretary of the Russian delegation. He delivered the coffee

Little Kox about contact with Levitsky

In response, he now says he never met Levitsky one-on-one. “He was the secretary of the Russian delegation. He delivered the coffee,” says Kox. The SP admits, however, that it still speaks regularly with Van der Linden. Kox doesn’t think it’s surprising that the CDA member met the Russian spy while on vacation. “We didn’t know at the time that he was working for the intelligence service. As president, René met Putin and kept a fascination for Russia. I don’t find it at all strange that he sees someone again. one of this delegation after his retirement.

Read alsoThis opinion piece by Tiny Kox on Russia 2019

The SP takes into account that it is the victim of a Russian disinformation campaign. Kox points out that the presidents of the assembly are elected by rotation. “Now it was my group’s turn. I am the first assembly president to expel the Russians (after the invasion of Ukraine, editor’s note). They probably didn’t thank me for that.”