Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today called on Marine Le Pen, France’s presidential candidate accused of being close to Russia, to admit that she had been “misled” and said she did not want to “lose” relations with the French president. press and BTA.
“If the candidate finds out that she was deceived … our relationship could change,” the Ukrainian president told BFMTV in a remote interview from Kyiv. However, he clarified: “I am not convinced that today I have the right to influence what is happening in your country.”
Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron, candidates in the second round of France’s presidential election on Sunday, are facing off tonight in a televised debate. “I mean, I obviously have a relationship with Emmanuel Macron and I don’t want to lose it,” Zelenski added.
Le Pen promised to deal a heavy blow to the United States if elected president
Marin Le Pen was barred from entering Ukraine in January 2017 after defending Russia’s 2014 annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula by Russia, which was considered illegal by the international community.
The People’s Assembly candidate condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but again called for “strategic rapprochement between NATO and Russia” last Wednesday after the war ended.
The far-right candidate was accepted by Russian President Vladimir Putin during the 2017 presidential election, and her party continues to repay a 9m-euro loan to a lender linked to former Russian servicemen.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is serving a prison sentence, called on the French today to vote for Emmanuel Macron in the second round of France’s presidential election, accusing his rival Marine Le Pen’s party of compromising with Vladimir Putin.
“I do not hesitate to call on the French to vote for Emmanuel Macron on April 24, but I would like to address those who do not rule out voting for Marine Le Pen,” the activist wrote in a series of tweets.
Navalny said he was “shocked” by the 9m-euro loan taken in 2014 by the former National Front party (now the National Assembly) from a Russian bank. “This is corruption. And this is a sale of political influence to Putin,” said the Russian opposition.
Navalny from prison revealed a great crime in Bucha
The National Assembly continues to repay this loan, which was initially withdrawn in 2014 by Russia’s First Czech-Russian Bank, which closed in 2016. The debt was sold to the Russian car rental company Konti and then resold to Aviazaptchast – a company run by former Russian military.
“This bank is a well-known money laundering agency set up on Putin’s initiative. Would you like a French politician to get a loan from Cosa Nostra?” Asked Navalny, who became known for his investigations into corruption among Russia’s elite.
To justify turning to a Russian financial institution, the National Front accused French banks of refusing to lend to him.
–
