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Vienna refused to participate in Valdai Club due to crisis in Austria — Russian diplomat

Russian Ambassador in Vienna Dmitry Lyublinsky said that "Austrian co-organizers abruptly announced their refusal to participate" in the session of the Valdai International Discussion Club

Vienna EPA-EFE/CHRISTIAN BRUNA

Vienna

© EPA-EFE/CHRISTIAN BRUNA

VIENNA, May 21. /TASS/. Austrian representatives refused to participate and provide a venue for the 6th European conference of the Valdai International Discussion Cluba because of the domestic political crisis, Russian Ambassador in Vienna Dmitry Lyublinsky said on Tuesday.

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Austria refuses to provide venue for Valdai Discussion Club conference

"The European conference of the Valdai International Discussion Club opened with a reception at the Russian embassy. Several hours before that, Austrian co-organizers abruptly announced their refusal to participate. However, they were not able to disrupt it. The domestic political crisis in Vienna is ongiong, and it has nothing to do with Russia," Lyublinsky wrote on his Facebook page.

The ambassador noted that organizers had to urgently look for another venue and resolve all the accompanying issues by themselves. "The Valdai Club conference will be held in Vienna," he concluded.

On May 18, leader of the Freedom Party of Austria Heinz-Christian Strache stepped down as the country’s Vice Chancellor after the German magazine Der Spiegel and the newspaper Sьddeutsche Zeitung had published a hidden camera video, which showed Strache, his aide Johann Gudenus and an unknown Russian-speaking woman discussing the possibility of buying the tabloid Kronen Zeitung and securing information support for the party ahead of the 2017 parliamentary election in return for access to construction contracts in Austria.

After that, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said he saw no possibility for further cooperation with that party in the coalition government. Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen suggested holding a snap parliamentary election in September.

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