Le Pen offers to meet Zelenskyy in Brussels

PARIS — Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said she would be prepared to hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Brussels, in the wake of her promises to stop French financial aid to Ukraine. Speaking on the sidelines of a trade fair in Paris, Le Pen said a meeting in Brussels would be “justified” because “the topic of Ukraine financing is rattling Europe.” “The German chancellor is starting to threaten people, it’s starting to be an issue in Europe and it would be interesting to discuss this,” she said in a reference to Friedrich Merz’s threats to cut EU funds for countries who refuse to support Ukraine financially. Le Pen said she would offer to hold talks with Zelenskyy when she meets the Ukrainian ambassador in France on Monday. The far-right leader is the front-runner ahead of next year’s presidential election and has repeatedly said France can no longer afford to keep financing Ukraine’s war effort. She has estimated that French aid amounts to €6 billion per year, a figure Zelenskyy has challenged. He said the military partnership with Paris is “a win-win” relationship. Zelenskyy also invited Le Pen to Kyiv, telling French weekly l’Express that Le Pen would “change her mind” if she met Ukrainians. Financial aid to Ukraine has become an issue in next year’s presidential election amid difficult budget negotiations. This month far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon also courted controversy when he said that a post-war referendum on the future of the Donbas should be held in the area, which is mostly under Russian occupation.