Kremlin Spokesman Does Not Rule Out Putin's Meeting With EU Parliament Candidate Mariani

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sputnik on Saturday that he did not rule out that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Thierry Mariani, a candidate in the upcoming elections to the European Parliament and the head of the Franco-Russian Dialogue Association, could be held

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th March, 2019) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sputnik on Saturday that he did not rule out that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Thierry Mariani, a candidate in the upcoming elections to the European Parliament and the head of the Franco-Russian Dialogue Association, could be held.

Mariani, who is currently on a visit to Russia's Crimea as the head of the French delegation, expressed hope earlier in the day that he would meet with Putin, since such an opportunity had emerged.

"He [Putin] is in Crimea. We'll see," Peskov told Sputnik, when asked about the possibility of this meeting.

Peskov said on Wednesday that Putin would certainly take part in the celebrations of the fifth anniversary of Crimea's reunification with Russia, stressing that it was a very important day for all the Russians.

Crimea rejoined Russia on March 18, 2014, when 97 percent of those participating in a regional referendum voted in favor of reunification. The vote has not been recognized by Ukraine and the majority of Western countries, while Russia has repeatedly stressed that it had been held in compliance with international law.