"I absolutely disagree that it was an illegal annexation: a referendum was held and residents of Crimea chose to rejoin Russia," Le Pen, a frontrunner in the French presidential race from the National Front party, told the BFMTV news channel.
Crimea seceded from Ukraine after a March 2014 referendum which found that almost 97 percent of its predominantly ethnic Russian population voted to reunite with Russia.
Asked if she saw Crimea as an integral part of Russia, Le Pen replied, "Yes." She said there was no reason to call the result of the 2014 vote into question.
The West considers Crimea’s move to rejoin Russia as illegal annexation. The United States and Europe have imposed rounds of sanctions on the region and its officials in the past three years amid calls from Ukraine for tougher economic action.
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