MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia does not pose a threat to France or any European country, rejecting comments by the leadership of France’s hardline National Rally as false.
In a joint statement at the weekend, presidential candidate Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, the party’s president, said they would “never tolerate a foreign power, in this case, Russia, seeking to dictate, directly or indirectly, the policy of our country through intimidation, threats, destabilization or psychological pressure.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow did not accept the criticism.
“We do not agree with this statement. Russia is not threatening France or any other country in Europe. President Putin has stated this on numerous occasions. We have no disputes with any European states that could give rise to any serious disagreements,” said Peskov.
“Russia therefore poses no threat whatsoever; it threatens no one and blackmails no one. We therefore categorically disagree with such statements. We do not accept them,” he added.
Russia’s ruling United Russia party easily won a parliamentary election that President Vladimir Putin has cast as a test of support for the war in Ukraine, the Central Election Commission said on Monday, after over 95% of votes had been counted.
United Russia party won 57.83% of the vote, the Central Election Commission said, up from 49.8% which it won in 2021, the last time an election for the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, was held.
The results would hand United Russia 355 seats in the 450-seat Duma, which would see it retain its constitutional majority, the commission said.