NOVO OGAREVO, June 25. /ITAR-TASS/. President Vladimir Putin said his visit to Austria on June 24 made a major contribution to the strategic energy partnership with Europe.

He described his trip to Vienna as “substantive”. “You know that we agreed to advance South Stream, which is an important part of the work to implement the whole project. We can say that we took a significant step forward to implement our strategic plans to support our partners in Europe and ensure stable energy supplies to Europe,” Putin said at a meeting with Cabinet members on Wednesday, June 25.