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French hopeful ��has called for the restoration of diplomatic relations with the regime of��, ahead of the second round of elections on 24 April.

The far-right candidate criticised s policy of isolating Assad when outlining her foreign policy platform at a news conference in Paris on Wednesday, according to state-owned French broadcaster RFI.��

Instead, she said “channels of dialogue and communication" were needed “in critical, complex moments of crisis… especially when [Syria] was confronted with Islamist terror,” reported RFI.��

Le Pen has previously said��that allowing Bashar al-Assad to remain in power may be the "least bad option" for Syria.

She is also a long-time admirer of Russian president Vladimir Putin, a key ally to Russia- though she has downplayed this during Moscow's

Macron has said a “return to normal” in Syria with Assad in power would be a “grotesque error”.

During the 11-year war,��Assad’s regime used chemical weapons��against civilians��and conducted mass torture and extrajudicial killings to target specific communities, according to Human Rights Watch.��

Le Pen��also talked about other��policies that would impact the Middle East region during the press conference.

The National Front leader��defended a “two-state solution” for Palestine and Israel -��a stance matching up with current French policy -��and welcomed the and Arab states.��

She called for France��to be��independent��and powerful��on the international scene, and urged for stronger bilateral, rather than multilateral ties with countries such as .

Le Pen was the runner-up to Macron in the first round of voting on Sunday. Opinion��polls indicate she is only a few points behind the incumbent president ahead of the final round of voting.