March 24, less than four weeks before the first round of the French presidential elections, Vladimir Putin was officially received in the Kremlin the presidential candidate of the National front of marine Le Pen (Marine Le Pen). This meeting with the Russian President were not observed in any of the agenda and took place in the absence of foreign press. You can get to it could only representatives of the Russian media.
“We do not want in any way to influence the course of the unfolding events [elections], but we reserve the right to communicate with representatives of all political forces of France, as well as do our partners in Europe and in the USA”, — said Vladimir Putin, quoted him as saying the TASS news Agency.
The Russian leader, who said “happy to see” his companion, was not limited to the standard handshake, understanding, being a good strategist, all the influence that Le Pen can get. He received the President of the front National, as if she is already a full-fledged partner.
“Of course, it will be interesting to exchange views on how to develop our bilateral relations and also on the current European situation, he said, adding — I know that you represent a fast-growing in Europe the political spectrum”.
To emphasize the common ground
If the United States marine Le Pen was unable to meet with Donald trump, Vladimir Putin’s Russia was for the candidate the platform which she would like to get on the international stage.
The meeting, which lasted an hour and a half, as noted by Louis de Dunn (Ludovic de Danne), Advisor to Le Pen for European Affairs, were primarily intended to emphasize the commonality of positions, mainly in the field of combating terrorism.
“I quite agree with you, just adding together our efforts we will be able to deal effectively with the terrorist threat,” Putin said after mentioning “the tragic events in Syria and Iraq, in Mosul, where thousands of refugees were forced to leave their homes.” For destabilizing Europe migration crisis very closely in Russia, where it is used close to the power of the media as an excuse to foment trouble.
“Maybe we need to think together about how to help the African region, in particular, the Sahara and the Sahel,” said the head of the extreme right, speaking about the heavy military conflicts in the region that inhibit its development and encourage the “young, desperate (…) to join the ranks of terrorist organizations.” “So, we must combine our strategic actions at the international level to help the development of this region,” continued Le Pen. “I absolutely agree” — again endorsed her words with Putin.
The fight against European sanctions
Rumors about the previous meeting with the Russian President marine Le Pen strongly spread for a long time. However the head of the National front denied in December 2014, the words of his former Advisor on international issues America Soprada (Aymeric Chauprade), telling about an official meeting.
On Friday 24 March, the head of the French extreme right was eclipsed by the presidential candidate françois Fillon (François Fillon) that little else can offer the Russian President as “professional”, fully engaged in today is your own business.
Marine Le Pen, who arrives in Moscow for the fourth time in 2011, gave the Russian President all the promises he had expected her to. Before meeting with the President it took the Commission on international Affairs in the Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, then close to Putin Vyacheslav Volodin. Le Pen welcomed the Russian intervention in Syria: “It dealt a serious blow to the fundamentalists”. She was talking about imposed on Russia sanctions related to the conflict in Ukraine. “We don’t believe in diplomacy, threats of sanctions or blackmail, which, unfortunately, applies the European Union against the Russian Federation and to its own members”, — said marine Le Pen. She repeated that “her opinion about Ukraine coincides with the opinion of Russia”, reiterating his desire to influence the lifting of sanctions. January 17 in his interview to the newspaper “Izvestia” she said: “Crimea never belonged to Ukraine”.
A special relationship
On Friday, March 24, Le Pen added another point to his foreign policy program: “the Problem we all face can be reduced to the following statement: France ceased to be a full sovereign state”.
“I’m trying to fight to make France regained its sovereignty, freedom and harmonious foreign policy, strategically otstaivaya Charles De Gaulle. (…) This is my fight, my strategy, and I dare to hope that the victory of Donald trump will accelerate this process and simplify it.”
Further, avoiding the press waiting for her near the Duma, marine Le Pen went to the Kremlin. On the official website of the President later, there were photos taken not only during her conversation with Putin, but also while walking on red square and during a visit to the Church of the Twelve apostles, located on the territory of the Kremlin. This is a rare special relationship is not too surprising in Russia, where marine Le Pen often gets a positive rating from the Pro-Kremlin press. Two hours earlier, Sergey Lavrov, Minister of foreign Affairs of Russia, called it “realistic” politician, an “environmentalist”. Never been a question about the 9 million euros private Russian Bank allocated in 2014, the leader of the National front (the speech also did not go and on the return of this amount), and that only fueled suspicions about the Kremlin’s desire to support the party of marine Le Pen. Pro-Kremlin TV channel LifeNews probably made a mistake by posting on Friday, March 24, on its website the headline “Moscow would help Le Pen”. A few minutes later the title was changed to “Le Pen is not afraid of anything”.
