The leader of the French National Front Party calls on Paris to recognize Crimea as part of the Russian Federation and mend its ties with Moscow, amid tensions over the crisis in Ukraine.

Marine Le Pen made the remarks in a Monday interview with the Polish weekly, Do Rzeczy, saying there is no alternative to recognizing the legality of Crimea’s move.

The French party leader argued that the Crimean people chose to become part of Russia following an orchestrated “coup” in February 2014, when, what she called, “Neo-Nazi militants organized a revolution in Ukraine.”

Le Pen continued by saying that the Black Sea peninsula had no other alternative as the “power in Kiev was illegal” at that time, adding, “The authorities [in Kiev] started to make decisions that would lead to civil war.”

The French politician also urged President Francois Hollande’s government to mend ties with Russia, as the country “is a natural ally of Europe.”

“We are pawns in the game of influence between the United States and Russia. Russia is a great country, a great people, with which Europe has many common strategic interests,” said Le Pen, adding, “We need to talk with Russia.”

Le Pen has been a strong opponent of the European Union’s policies towards Russia and US influence of the bloc since the Ukrainian crisis erupted last year. The party leader has also criticized France’s close ties with Washington, saying that the US is using NATO to extend its influence abroad.

Earlier this month, the politician said she disapproved of Washington’s role in Europe, noting, “Regarding Ukraine, we behave like American lackeys,” and warned that “the aim of the Americans is to start a war in Europe to push NATO to the Russian border.”

The French figure has repeatedly called for a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis, with negotiations on federalization of the country and constitutional reforms to decentralize the Kiev government’s power, rather than attempting to solve the problem by military means.

Don’t blame Crimea for joining Russia

The remarks by Le Pen come just over a week after France’s former President Nicolas Sarkozy said Crimea cannot be blamed for joining the Russian Federation.

French President Francois Hollande has also called for “quite strong” autonomy for Ukraine’s eastern restive regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, saying, “It will be difficult to make them share a common life [with Kiev]” following the armed conflict between Kiev government troops and pro-Russia forces.

Crimea declared independence from Ukraine on March 17, 2014 and formally applied to become part of Russia following a referendum a day earlier, in which 96.8 percent of participants voted in favor of the secession. The voter turnout in the referendum stood at 83.1 percent.

CAH/GHN/HMV