VIENNA, June 5. /TASS/. Shipments of Russian gas to Austria play a vital role in the country's energy supply, and cooperation in this area is beneficial for both nations, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said in an exclusive interview with TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman ahead of the Russian President Vladimir Putin visit to Vienna.
"I would like to note that fruitful cooperation of the two very important companies - Austria’s OMV and Russia’s Gazprom, which seems to me extremely beneficial for both sides," the chancellor said.
"The energy supply in Austria is highly diversified, but there is no doubt that the supplies of Russian gas play an important role in it. That seems to me positive not only for Russia, but also for the countries of Europe, and in spite of all the difficulties that had often emerged over the past decades, our cooperation in the energy sector has never been disputed, it has been stable and uninterrupted," he highlighted.
Earlier, Austrian Ambassador to Moscow Johannes Aigner said that during the Russian president’s upcoming visit to Austria, representatives from Gazprom would sign an agreement on further cooperation with OMV.
On June 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin pays a working visit to Austria. The program includes talks with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen and Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kutz. The parties are expected to discuss the current state of affairs and prospects for Russian-Austrian relations in various areas, and exchange views on key global issues. Putin is expected to meet with businessmen from both countries to hash over matters on mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation with a focus on the 50th anniversary of the launch of a large-scale energy project - supplies of natural gas from the former Soviet Union to Europe, the Kremlin said.