MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th May, 2019) The Russian and Austrian Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Van der Bellen, will meet in the Russian resort city of Sochi on Wednesday, with the sides expected to discuss Russian-Austrian bilateral ties.
According to the Kremlin, the two leaders will discuss the current state and prospects for further promoting bilateral Russian-Austrian ties as well as topical international and regional issues.
Putin and Van der Bellen are also expected to attend an inaugural meeting of a bilateral public forum called the Sochi Dialogue Civil Society Forum, which was established by the two countries and aimed at strengthening the ties between the Russian and Austrian civil societies. The idea to establish the forum was first supported by Putin and Van der Bellen at their talks in the Austrian capital last June.
Van der Bellen said after the June talks that Russia was a very important market, with Austria's direct investment in Russia standing at about 7 billion Euros ($8 billion), while Russia's investment in Austria being three or four times bigger.
Moreover, the Austrian president stressed that a number of regional and global issues could only be resolved in cooperation with Russia.
Wednesday's meeting between Putin and Van der Bellen comes after talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Austrian counterpart, Karin Kneissl, in March.
