French far-right leader and presidential candidate Le Pen says she’s ready to meet Zelensky

French far-right leader and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen says she is willing to meet Ukraine’s president in Brussels, after threatening to cut aid to Kyiv if elected.

Asked if she was ready to meet Volodymyr Zelensky during her campaign for a first face-to-face meeting, she responds: “Yes, if I can meet him in Brussels.”

“I think the location would actually be quite appropriate, because the reality is that the issue of funding for Ukraine is a question that is currently shaking Europe,” she says.

Zelensky last month said his country had a “win-win” defence cooperation with France, after Le Pen — who is leading in the polls to replace centrist President Emmanuel Macron next year — said she would cut aid to Ukraine if she became president.

“For six months we would maintain the aid … but after that, financial aid would halt because we don’t have the money,” Le Pen tells Belgian television network VRT.

France is one of the strongest military supporters of Ukraine as it fights back against Russia’s invasion launched in 2022, and backs EU financial aid to Kyiv.