Francois Fillon, who polls suggest is the front-runner, wants to end sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine, work alongside Russia against the Islamic State group, and insists “Russia poses no threat to the West.”
If Fillon wins the nomination, that would put him in a powerful position heading into the April-May election — and his strongest challenger might turn out to be far-right leader Marine Le Pen, an open fan of Putin.
Putin likely would try to exploit a more-friendly figure in the French presidency to push for abandonment of the European Union sanctions that have hit the Russian economy; …read more
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
