London: France's far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has called for the lifting of EU sanctions on Russia, during a visit to Moscow, reports BBC.
The National Front (FN) leader called for closer French-Russian ties at a meeting in Russia's lower house of parliament, the Duma.
She told its speaker sanctions over Russia's annexation of Crimea were counterproductive, Interfax reported.
Ms Le Pen has also met President Vladimir Putin. He told her that Russia had no intention of interfering in French elections beginning next month, but had the right to meet any French politicians it wanted.
"We are obviously aware that an election campaign is in full swing in France," Mr Putin said.
"We are far from trying to somehow influence what is going on, but [we] reserve the right to communicate with representatives of all political forces from that country."
When Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014, the US and EU imposed travel bans and asset freezes on individuals and companies linked to Russia's ruling elite.
"I believe that barring parliamentarians from speaking to each other, working together is an infringement of democratic rights," Interfax quoted Ms Le Pen as saying in a meeting with Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin.
She vowed to push for the so-called "blacklists" of targeted individuals to be abolished.
Ms Le Pen also said that Russia and France should work together to save the world from globalism and Islamic fundamentalism, Interfax said.
Moscow likes what Marine Le Pen has to say. It likes her call for EU sanctions imposed on Russia to be scrapped. It likes her claim that "Crimea has always been Russian" and that "there was no Russian invasion of Crimea". It likes her commitment to forge a strong partnership with Moscow. Which explains why the Kremlin leader took the decision to meet her in Moscow.
It's rare for Vladimir Putin to receive a presidential candidate from abroad. I asked President Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov whether any Russian banks or financial institutions intend to provide financing for Ms Le Pen's campaign. "I don't have that information," he replied.