The daughter of Kremlsprecher Dmitri Peskow is currently completing an internship in the European Parliament. According to the French deputy Aymeric Chauprade, Elisaveta Peskova has worked for him since November and until the end of April. Peskov defended the employment of his daughter: This is a normal student and do a normal internship, which has „nothing to do with my work,“ said long-time spokesman for President Vladimir Putin.
According to Chauprade, Elisaweta Peskowa is currently studying law in France. As an intern, she receives 1000 euros a month. The 21-year-old has no access to confidential documents and is also absent from behind-the-scenes debates, the former foreign policy adviser to French right-wing populist Marine Le Pen, a member of the European Parliament’s Security and Defense Subcommittee and a member of the European Parliament EU-Russia delegation is.
A spokeswoman for the European Parliament confirmed that „assistants and interns of MEPs have no access to confidential documents“. „In truth, Mr. Chauprade never had access to confidential documents,“ she added in an e-mail to the AFP news agency.
At the end of May, a new European Parliament will be elected. Concern within the EU about outside influence, especially on the part of Moscow, on the European elections is huge.
Chauprade had been elected to the European Parliament in 2014 for Le Pen’s Front National party, but then defeated the party leadership and became an independent MP in 2015. As a nonpartisan he joined the faction „Europe of Nations and Freedom“, whose members are classified from right-wing populist to right-wing extremist. During the referendum organized by Moscow on Russia’s annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula in 2014, Chauprade acted as an election observer.
Peskowa is a zealous user of online social networks. More than 80,000 subscribers follow her on Instagram, often posting glamorous selfies with Russian stars and government officials. Last year, photos of a Chechen trip caused a shake of the head – Peskowa had accepted an invitation from Ramsan Kadyrov and called him a „dear brother“.
