The Latest: Le Pen won’t meet Russians during Putin’s visit
PARIS (AP) — The Latest on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to France (all times local):
4:25 p.m.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen maintains contacts with Moscow after visiting Vladimir Putin in March, but had no plans to meet with the Russian leader or Russian aides during Putin’s visit to France.
Le Pen tweeted ahead of Putin’s meeting on Monday at the Palace of Versailles with French President Emmanuel Macron that she “rejoices that V. Putin is being welcomed to France. Our relations must be normalized.”
The secretary-general of Le Pen’s far-right National Front party, Nicolas Bay, said later that “of course” Le Pen’s contacts with Russia continue and “there is no reason these contacts wouldn’t continue long-term.”
He says they’re “totally distinct from diplomatic contacts” that Macron, the president, now has.
Putin hosted Le Pen at the Kremlin in March, wrongly betting that the nationalist would win France’s May 7 presidential election.
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2:15 p.m.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in France for talks with newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron.
Macron greeted Putin with a firm handshake on a red carpet leading into the Palace of Versailles before both men walked inside.
Putin’s trip is likely to shape Russia-France ties for years, with Putin trying to mend strained ties with the West and with Macron after the Russian leader backed Macron’s far-right rival Marine Le Pen.
Putin and Macron will hold a joint news conference after their talks.
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11:40 a.m.
Human rights activists are gathered in Paris to draw attention to the situation of gays in Chechnya before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to France.
The activists want newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the issue with Putin at their Versailles palace meeting. They held a banner “Stop homophobia in Chechnya” at a square in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Amnesty International France vice president Cecile Coudriou says “it’s important that Mr. Putin is ready to hear, we hope, strong words coming from Mr. Macron, to say ‘stop’ to that homophobia which has lasted for too long.”
Human Rights Watch said in a new report last week that high-level officials in Russia’s Chechnya humiliated inmates during visits to detention facilities where gay people were allegedly held and tortured.
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8:40 a.m.
On a trip that will likely shape Russia-France ties for years to come, President Vladimir Putin is set to visit France for talks with newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron after expressing sympathy for his rivals during the campaign.
After Moscow lost its bets in the French vote, the visit offers the Russian leader a chance to turn the page and try to establish ties with Macron as the Kremlin has struggled to mend a bitter rift in relations with the West.
Monday’s meeting comes in the wake of the Group of Seven’s summit over the weekend where relations with Russia were part of the agenda, making Macron the first Western leader to speak to Putin after the talks.
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