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Putin: Visit to Austria was private but 'we managed to discuss business, too'

Putin remarked that the Austrian foreign minister’s spouse was a kindred spirit in a sense

© EPA-EFE/ROLAND SCHLAGER/POOL

SOCHI, August 22. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Austria was exclusively private, but during the trip the Russian head of state managed to discuss business matters with Austria’s chancellor and foreign minister.

"The trip was exclusively private," Putin said in reply to a question from TASS after talks with Finland’s Prime Minister Sauli Niinisto. "It was a festive party, but we managed to have a word with the foreign minister (Karin Kneissl) and Austrian chancellor (Sebastian Kurz) to discuss business matters."

Putin took the opportunity to congratulate the newlyweds Karin Kneissl and Wolfgang Meilinger once again.

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"I would like to thank my Austrian friends for the invitation again," he said. "I should say both are well-established people enjoying a prominent place in society and the state, but at the same time they are very open and jovial people. From the bottom of my heart I would like to congratulate them once more upon the event I chanced to attend."

Putin remarked that the Austrian foreign minister’s spouse was a kindred spirit in a sense.

"He is a former athlete, a judo wrestler, too. Such things always unite," Putin, a judo enthusiast himself, said with a smile.

He emphasized Austria’s positive role in bilateral relations and in promoting the dialogue between Russia and the European Union.

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