"It would be better without restrictions": what Putin spoke with the president of Austria

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that negotiations with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Van der Bellen were constructive.

Putin received the Austrian delegation in the Sochi sanatorium "Rus". Together with Van der Bellen was his wife Doris Schmidauer, the couple was accompanied by Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneisl.

“I am confident that the agreements reached will have a positive impact on the development of the whole complex of Russian-Austrian relations,” Putin said after the meeting. He thanked the President of Austria for a meaningful and constructive dialogue and noted that the talks were held in a friendly and businesslike atmosphere.

According to the Russian leader, the non-aligned status of Austria helps the two countries better develop bilateral relations. Speaking about this, Putin recalled the contribution of the Soviet Union in the signing of the 1955 treaty, which restored sovereignty to Austria and ensured its status of a neutral state.

Summing up the meeting, Putin said that Russia was pleased with the current development of relations with the European Union, but without restrictions the interaction between the countries would be better.

“We are pleased with the development of our relations, but, of course, it would be better that there were no restrictions related to politics, there would be no restrictions in the economy politically motivated,” the Russian leader said. He added that Russian trade with European countries is growing.

“We had a turnover of more than 400 billion dollars before the crisis level in our relations, and now it has reached 300. Nearly 80 billion is a decent growth,” the president said. According to him, industrial cooperation is developing well with countries such as Germany, France and Italy.

Putin also thanked Austria for supporting the Nord Stream 2 project, noting the participation of the Austrian company OMV.

“We in Russia highly appreciate the consistent position of the Austrian side in support of this project aimed at ensuring the energy security of the entire Eurasian continent,” Putin said, noting that Russia has provided Austria with energy resources for over half a century.

The head of the Russian state added that Moscow and Vienna work closely together in various industrial projects.

In turn, Van der Bellen said that Austria intends to continue to participate in the "Nord Stream - 2."

“Austria has no intention to leave the Nord Stream 2 project, OMV is an Austrian gas concern - they definitely have no such intention, they have invested a great deal in this second possibility of gas transit. Of course, we will stay, ”said the President of Austria.

He also expressed the opinion that the sanctions against the Russian Federation “cause harm to everyone”. According to the Austrian politician, “political prerequisites” existed for their introduction.

Van der Bellen said that at first the sanctions caused great difficulties, but later Vienna “changed its trade” flows and switched from the sale of finished products of economic activity to the sale of technology and know-how.

“The situation, if you look at it purely economically, is unsatisfactory. And I do not think that anyone will argue with that, ”concluded the Austrian politician.

He mentioned that during the conversation with Putin, the leaders discussed the situation around the Iranian nuclear deal. According to Van der Bellen, it was about what effect these events can have on relations between the EU and Russia.

“You know that, with regard to the cancellation of the FIRD, there are great regrets and, of course, regrets about what sanctions are imposed on Iran by the United States and indirectly - against the European Union member countries,” said the Austrian President.

He later assessed the negotiations with the Russian leader. Van der Bellen said in his Twitter profile that the conversation was open and businesslike.

“President Putin and I had an open and businesslike conversation today. In many areas - culture, science and entrepreneurship - Austria and Russia work well together, wrote Van der Bellen. “The quality of our bilateral relations allows us to solve political problems and sensitive issues in the framework of a constructive dialogue.”

Russian-Austrian meetings

In March, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Alexander Van der Bellen. The negotiations took place in the framework of the 62nd session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna.

“Topical issues of the bilateral agenda were discussed, including the implementation of the agreement between the presidents of Russia and Austria on the creation of a public forum, Sochi Dialogue. Separate international topics were also touched upon, ”the meeting of two politicians in the Russian Foreign Ministry on March 14 was described.

A few days before, Lavrov met with Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneisl in Moscow. She later held a private meeting in President Putin.

Kneisl noted that both countries want to develop relations where it does not contradict sanctions, and “against the background of sanctions” Vienna wants to demonstrate that relations with Moscow remain.