(Luca Bruno/Associated Press)WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s nationalist ruling party leader said political groupings in some European Union states, including Marine Le Pen’s party in France, are “obviously linked to Moscow and receive its support.”Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s comment in the Gazeta Polska weekly that was published Wednesday suggest that his party’s wariness toward Russia could be an impediment to working with Le Pen’s National Rally or the right-wing League party of Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who is also friendly toward Russia. “I see political formations operating in individual countries that are obviously linked to Moscow and receive its support. Le Pen’s formation is a good example of this,” said Kaczynski, the leader of Law and Justice and the key figure directing government policy and appointments. Le Pen’s party, formerly called the National Front, took millions of euros in loans from a Czech-Russian bank. But earlier this month during a visit to Estonia, Le Pen sought to play down her association with Putin: “I’m not under the control of any foreign country” and that “I will not allow for us to be under Putin’s thumb.”Copyright 2019 The Associated Press.

Source: Washington Post May 22, 2019 10:08 UTC