Ukrainian Foreign Minister: Austria's explanations of Putin’s presence at Karin Kneissl's wedding 'evoke a sad smile'
The Austrian Foreign Ministry justifying Russian President Vladimir Putin’s presence at the foreign minister’s, Karin Kneissl’s wedding as a private visit evokes a “sad smile”, wrote the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affaitrs, Pavlo Klimkin on Twitter.
“I do not usually comment on secular life, but if the Austrian Foreign Ministry has to make excuses while assuring that foreign policy is not changing in light of the “private visit,” it is an interesting turn of events that evoke a sad smile,” wrote Klimkin.
On August 18th, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the wedding of Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl, on his way to Berlin.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry reported that this was a “personal visit to a private celebration and therefore, conclusions that there is a change in Austria’s foreign policy are incorrect.”
The representative of the Austrian Foreign Ministry stated that the Russian president’s arrival is a working visit and said, that the Russian side “will pay its own costs.”
The Austrian media reported that Putin’s visit to Vienna two months ago cost Austrian taxpayers 423,000 euros.