Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in St. Petersburg on Wednesday afternoon.
Putin and Kurz will first conduct one-on-one negotiations and will then be joined by other officials. Afterwards, they will participate in a joint news conference.
According to the Kremlin press service, the leaders will discuss "the state and perspectives for the development of the Russian-Austrian relations, as well as pressing regional and international issues."
"As for talks with the Chancellor, in the context of Austria’s EU presidency in the second half of the 2018, the issues concerning Russia-EU relations will naturally be touched upon," Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
"We are prepared for discussing the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis and any other issues. Apparently our president will brief the Chancellor on our participation in the Syrian settlement and so on and so forth. A number of international and regional issues will be considered," he added.
Ushakov described Austria as one of Russia’s most reliable partners in Western Europe. Bilateral trade last year was up 40% (to $4.1 billion) and has since kept growing. According to preliminary estimates, it went up 70% in January-July and is expected to increase further by the end of the year. Investment has also been on the increase in the past years, with the overall volume of Russia’s investment in Austrian projects estimated at $31.4 billion as of January-April 2018. Austria remains Russia’s 14th largest investor with $6 billion.
Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said the implementation of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project and the construction of the Russian-standard railway (with 1520mm-wide tracks) to Austria may become another issue on the agenda of the meeting.
"The agenda includes all the topics we normally discuss with Austria, they are positive, we quickly find a common language. Of course, energy cooperation is among key topics and it includes also Nord Stream 2. Austria’s position has always been consistent and advantageous both for Austria, and for Russia," Kozak said.
The two leaders are also expected to discuss mutual investments and ways to create favorable conditions for doing business.
"Usually we understand our Austrian colleagues when they express concerns about specific companies - and there are a lot of them operating in Russia. By the way, none of the companies has left (the Russian market) after all the sanctions were imposed. We carefully analyze any problems that occur. And it works both sides, because our business is widely represented in Austria. These are very comfortable, one of the most comfortable conditions of cooperation we have with other countries, "Kozak said.
The leaders of Russia and Austria will also attend the opening of a Hermitage Museum exhibition, headlined ‘Imperial capitals: St. Petersburg -Vienna. Masterpieces of museum collections,’ the Kremlin press service said. They will also meet with finalists of the Teacher of the Year 2018 competition.
