"We have seen a suspected influence on the elections in the US, we have seen an attempt in an influence on the elections in France. Everything speaks for the fact that it came from Russia. Therefore, we cannot rule out the possibility, and we imagine that there are corresponding attempts leading up to the elections in Germany," de Maiziere told reporters.
In November 2016, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she did not rule out the possibility of Russian hackers interfering in Germany's federal election. In January, German media reported that the BND had suspicions that Russia could try and influence the outcome of the elections taking place across Europe this year.
Media reports about Russia's alleged interference in foreign elections were spurred on by the US 2016 presidential election. The outgoing administration of President Barack Obama and the US intelligence community had claimed that Russia attempted to affect the November 8 vote.
Russian officials have denied the allegations and stressed that Moscow never interferes in foreign states' internal democratic process.
