Marine Le Pen wants ‘rapprochement’ between NATO and Russia

France’s far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen on Wednesday said she would call for a "rapprochement between NATO and Russia," and withdraw France from the integrated command of NATO if she defeats Emmanuel Macron for the presidency. 

“As soon as the war is over and has been settled by a peace treaty (...), I will campaign for a strategic rapprochement between NATO and Russia," the National Rally candidate said at a news conference in Paris organized to present her manifesto for French diplomacy and foreign policy.

Le Pen said such a rapprochement would be in the interest of global security as well as of the US.

“It is in the interest of France and Europe, but also, I believe, of the United States, which has (…) no interest in seeing the emergence of a close Sino-Russian union,” she added.

In the news conference, Le Pen said she would leave NATO’s integrated command as soon as she was in power as she had no desire to "submit to an American protectorate" or “engage against certain American wars."

She, however, assured to not “renounce Article 5 on mutual protection between members of the Atlantic Alliance.”