The White House’s invite is already dividing Europe.
PARIS — French far-right leader and presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen is on board with U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to invite Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit in Miami in December.
“Any initiatives aimed at putting an end to this slaughter are welcome,” she said at POLITICO’s Paris Playbook live event Thursday, referring to Russia’s war against Ukraine, after criticizing French President Emmanuel Macron for what she said were insufficient efforts to bring Russia back to the negotiating table.
Le Pen made clear at the same event that if she won the 2027 presidential election, France would halt all financial aid to Ukraine, though she said she was willing to maintain some form of support, including military training.
“Russia is currently attacking the means of transporting military equipment to Ukraine,” she said in reference to the failed drone attack at Germany’s Leipzig airport. “This presents a risk of escalation. This makes it more important than ever to put an end to the conflict,” she said.
The White House’s G20 invite to Putin represents the U.S.’ latest effort to reintegrate Moscow into the world’s diplomatic circuit and could lead to the Russian president’s first in-person G20 visit since 2019.
But it is already proving divisive as Russian armed forces are currently hammering Kyiv with drone and missile strikes. The EU’s foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas, a staunch Ukraine supporter, told CNN it was “very hard to hear.”