ST. PETERSBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th October, 2018) Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said Wednesday his government echoed the rest of the European Union in that it wanted closer ties with Russia, after tensions of the past years.
"Not only Austria but the entire EU wishes for a closer cooperation," he said at a press briefing in St. Petersburg, standing alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kurz stressed that Austria - the host for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe - would continue to keep peace on the continent.
"As a small but active EU member state we play a role in shaping the EU stance - and we bear responsibility for it," the chancellor added.
Ties between Russia and the soon-tobe-27-nation union soured after the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis in 2014. They went downhill in March after London blamed the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy on Moscow and expelled dozens of Russian diplomats. A score of UK's allies followed suit but Austria declined, pointing to its mediator status.
