Ukraine moves to blacklist Le Pen over Crimea comments

Ukraine indicated on Wednesday it would bar French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen from entering the country after comments she made that appeared to legitimise Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Le Pen's office dismissed the threat, saying she had no intention of visiting Ukraine.

Kiev is nervous about the shifting political landscape in 2017. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has adopted a friendlier tone towards Russia while another French presidential candidate, Francois Fillon, favours lifting sanctions against Moscow.

Relations between Ukraine and Russia soured after Russia's annexation of Crimea and the subsequent outbreak of pro-Russian separatist fighting in eastern Ukraine that has killed around 10,000 people, despite a ceasefire being notionally in place.