A man rides a bicycle along an embankment of the Moskva river, with the Taynitskaya Tower of the Kremlin seen in the background, in central Moscow, Russia, March 23, 2017. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Friday said calls from prominent Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny to hold a protest rally in the centre of Moscow on Sunday were an illegal provocation.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters that official permission had not been granted for the rally, which organisers say is to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Peskov also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a meeting in the Kremlin with French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, did not discuss financial aid for her campaign.