Europe

France's Le Pen put on spot over Russia while rallying right

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Leader of the French National Front Marine Le Pen attends a meeting with Jaak Madison, member of Conservative People's Party of Estonia, Finns Party representative Olli Kotro, Danish People's Party representative Anders Vistisen, and Manuel Vescovi of Italy's Lega Nord at the House of the Blackheads in Tallinn, Estonia on Tuesday, May 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Hendrik Osula)

Jaak Madison of Estonian Conservative People's Party, left, looks at Leader of the French National Front Marine Le Pen during a news conference in Tallinn, Estonia on Tuesday, May 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Hendrik Osula)

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen says media reports indicating her party has links to the Kremlin are "insulting" and the suggestion that National Rally accepted Russian money is a "lie."

National Rally leader Marine Le Pen made the comments while visiting Estonia on Tuesday for a meeting of an alliance of European populist and far-right parties preparing for this month's European Union parliament elections.

Politicians in Estonia, an EU member and former Soviet republic, are not eager to be associated with pro-Russia agendas.

At a news conference in Tallinn, an Estonian journalist asked Le Pen about French news reports about a loan her party received from a Czech-Russian bank in 2014 and allegations that Russia supported her 2017 presidential campaign.

Le Pen responded: "I do not depend on anyone."