On the 6th of June, Alexander Van der Bellen, the President of Austria expressed his immense joy at being able to welcome President Vladimir Putin for his state visit to Austria, as both of them had bonded over their knowledge of the common language, Russian. President Van der Bellen also commented on the fact that he was extremely glad that President Putin had chosen to visit Vienna as his first foreign state visit after his re-inauguration.
President Van der Bellen specified that he wanted to maintain a good relationship with Russia, and thus their President, owing to the fact that the country had played an important role in forging his ancestry. Alexander belonged to a Russian family of Dutch patrilineal descent which had become part of the Russian-German population due to intermarriage and cases of cultural assimilation. The President, therefore, had grown up reading Russian literature and acquiring fluency in the language at an early age. During their meeting at the ornate Hofburg, he thus supported Russia’s relationship with the EU, firmly stating that Russia would always be an important part of the continent. President Van der Bellen also pointed out that a potential superpower like Russia was always the best bet in tackling all sorts of global issues which had recently resurfaced around the world.
During the conference, President Van der Bellen and President Putin bonded over the language, as well as mutual opinions regarding improved relations between Russia and the EU, and other situations in the US and Iran. President Putin also expressed his opinions regarding the sanctions which had always stood as a wall between friendly trading among the EU and Russia, stating that these actions were equally harming both the involved parties, and that cancelling them might be in everybody’s best interests.