On Wednesday 23 August, Austria's Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz tried to be reassuring on the subject of Austria's position on Russia following the controversial attendance of Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the wedding of Austria's Foreign Affairs Minister Karin Kneissl on 18 August. Austria currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council
"Our position in Europe did not change because of a wedding”, Kurz told press. "Our foreign policy towards Russia is clear... We helped shape and are committed to all the European Union’s decisions”, he added.
Kurz said he hoped to improve relations between the EU and Russia by means of a more intensive dialogue. He talked to the Russian president at the wedding.
On 22 August, Putin meanwhile said that Austria was playing "broadly, a very positive role, not only in (their) bilateral relations, but also for building a dialogue between Russia and the EU".
"Soon, Finland will take over the rotating presidency of the EU. We hope that during this period we too can do something positive for the recovery of normal Russian-European relations", Putin said at a press conference with his Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinisto.
Relations between the EU and Russia are tense, notably due to the annexation of Crimea, the conflict in eastern Ukraine and the Skripal affair. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)