Le Pen said she would offer to hold talks with Zelenskyy when she meets the Ukrainian ambassador in France on Monday.
The far-right leader is the front-runner ahead of next year’s presidential election and has repeatedly said France can no longer afford to keep financing Ukraine’s war effort. She has estimated that French aid amounts to €6 billion per year, a figure Zelenskyy has challenged. He said the military partnership with Paris is “a win-win” relationship.
Zelenskyy also invited Le Pen to Kyiv, telling French weekly l’Express that Le Pen would “change her mind” if she met Ukrainians.
Financial aid to Ukraine has become an issue in next year’s presidential election amid difficult budget negotiations. This month far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon also courted controversy when he said that a post-war referendum on the future of the Donbas should be held in the area, which is mostly under Russian occupation.