MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin held a surprise meeting Friday with France’s far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, yet dismissed suggestions that Russia aims to influence the election in her favor.
Putin’s meeting with Le Pen came amid rising controversy over whether Russia tried to influence the U.S. presidential election by hacking computer accounts of the Democratic National Committee, and over meetings between members of President Donald Trump’s inner circle and the Russian ambassador.
Moscow has courted far-right parties in Europe in an influence-building campaign as friction between Russia and the West has mounted over the conflict in Ukraine and the …read more
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
