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Military operation in Ukraine

Austrian chancellor says told Putin that Zelensky wants to have direct talks

It was the first contact between the two leaders after Nehammer took office late in 2021

VIENNA, April 11. /TASS/. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said on Monday after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow that he had told the Russian leader that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky wants to have talks with him.

"I also told him that President Zelensky wants a direct contact to hold talks. No visible reaction followed," he said at a briefing for Austrian journalists.

It was the first contact between the two leaders after Nehammer took office late in 2021. Apart from that, Nehammer’s visit was the first visit by an EU leader to Russia since the launch of the special military operation in Ukraine. Before coming to Moscow, the Austrian chancellor held talks with Zelensky in Kiev.

The Austrian chancellor’s office said after his meeting with Putin that Nehammer’s visit to Moscow had three major humanitarian goals, namely to immediately cease hostilities, open humanitarian corridors to evacuate the wounded and vulnerable categories of the population, and ensure humanitarian access for the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations.

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