Austrian Federal Chancellor to visit Russia to discuss Ukraine, Syria with Putin

Austria’s Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is expected to make a visit to Russia in the coming weeks for a discussion of relations between Moscow and the EU, as well as the situation in Ukraine and in Syria, a spokesperson for the Office of the Federal Chancellor told TASS.

"The Chancellor and President Putin will have a tour of the exhibition titled ‘The Imperial Capitals: St Petersburg and Vienna’ at the State Hermitage Museum that opened at the Art History Museum in Vienna when Putin was visiting Austria," the spokesperson said.

"Also, Kurz and Putin will have working talks on bilateral relations, energy sector problems, relations between the EU and Russia and the situation in Ukraine and Syria," he said.

Austrian officials say, however, the sides have not coordinated the final date of the visit yet.

Putin made a one-day visit to Austria on July 5. It was timed for the 50th anniversary since the start of Soviet natural gas supplies there.

Austria became the first West-European country in 1968 to sign an agreement on the imports of natural gas from the USSR.

In the course of the visit, Putin, Austrian Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen and Sebastian Kurz opened the ‘Paintings of Old Masters from the State Hermitage Museum’ exhibition. It comprised the canvasses that used to belong to the Russian and Austrian Imperial Families and are currently kept at the Hermitage Museum and the Art History Museum in Vienna.

The exhibition was open in Vienna from June 6 through to September 2. Putin said at the opening ceremony the exhibition would be taken to the State Hermitage Museum from October 4 through January 13, 2019.

Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov told Izvestia on September 27 Putin would hold talks with Federal Chancellor Kurz in St Petersburg in October.