Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer
(Picture: Getty Images)Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer is to meet with Vladimir Putin in Moscow in a bid to build bridges between Russia and Ukraine and “stop the war of aggression”.
It will be the first face-to-face encounter between Mr Putin and a European Union leader since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
"I’m going to meet Vladimir #Putin in Moscow tomorrow [Monday]," Mr Nehammer wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
"We are militarily neutral, but (have) a clear position on the Russian war of aggression against #Ukraine," he wrote, referring to Austria’s position. "It must stop! It needs humanitarian corridors, ceasefire & full investigation of war crimes."
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed to RIA news agency that the pair would hold talks on Monday.
The Russian leader has been largely shunned by Western leaders since the start of the conflict, though he met Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in the Kremlin in early March.
Mr Nehammer’s planned trip to Moscow comes after he met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Saturday.
He told journalistshe aimed to act as a "bridge builder" between Russia and Ukraine, hoping to "do everything possible to make (the war) stop" and to "ensure that steps are taken in the direction of peace".
However, he conceded that the chances of achieving progress were slim.
Austria has been providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine as well as helmets and body armour for civilians rather than weapons.
Mr Nehammer said on Twitter he had briefed other "European partners" regarding his visit to Moscow, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan "and of course also Ukrainian president" Zelensky.
However, he faced criticism over the visit from some Ukrainian officials.
Sergei Orlov, deputy mayor of the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, told Germany’s Bild such a visit was unacceptable.
"The war crimes that Russia is committing right now on Ukrainian soil are still taking place," Orlov said during a TV broadcast. "I don’t understand how a conversation can be held with Putin at this time, how business can be conducted with him."
