State Duma welcomes Le Pen's associates
MOSCOW. June 23 (Interfax) - A delegation of European Parliament members, who are a part of French nationalists' leader Marine Le Pen's group, visited the State Duma and its plenary session on Friday.
During the plenary session, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin asked the lawmakers to greet the European Parliament's representatives, who were on a balcony.
"Colleagues, let's greet our European Parliament counterparts, who are on the guest balcony with our colleague [State Duma international affairs committee chairman Leonid] Slutsky," Volodin said.
Slutsky, for his part, told the lawmakers right from the balcony that the delegation includes the members of the European Parliament from various countries, such as the Czech Republic and France.
"Those are the countries comprising the group headed by Marine Le Pen in the European Parliament, this is a group that supports our position," Slutsky said.
The European Parliament's faction whose members came to Russia is called Europe of Nations and Freedom. The delegation comprises ten parliamentarians representing Austria, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, and the Czech Republic, he said.
"Meetings and negotiations, in particular, are being held at the Russian parliamentary venue as part of the visit. The members of the European Parliament will leave Moscow this weekend," Slutsky said.
