Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russian Federat : Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement and answers to media questions at a joint news conference following talks with Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, Moscow, January 18, 2017

Ladies and gentlemen,

The talks with my colleague, Austria's Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs Sebastian Kurz, have been constructive. We discussed a wide range of issues.

We agreed that Russian-Austrian dialogue has been developing progressively, based on the principles of mutual respect and mutual benefit despite a difficult situation in Europe. We discussed our bilateral relations, including in light of a meeting between President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Austria Heinz Fischer in April 2016.

We reaffirmed our resolve to carry on our bilateral relations and our mutual interest in strengthening them in all spheres. In particular, we intend to restore the positive dynamics of bilateral trade. A special role here will be played by the Joint Russian-Austrian Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation and the Russian-Austrian Business Council, which worked actively last year. We hope that they will continue working equally effectively this year.

We are convinced that the cross-tourism year, to be held in 2017, will not only strengthen friendship and mutual understanding between our citizens, but will also help increase the tourist flow, taking into account the positive experience of the Russian-Austrian cultural seasons in 2013−2015.

We have high assessments of our interdepartmental, inter-parliamentary and interregional ties, as well as contacts between our civil societies. We will continue working to promote these ties, including through the efforts of the foreign ministries of Russia and Austria.

Austria holds the rotating OSCE Chairmanship this year, and we had a detailed discussion of our interaction at the OSCE. Russia and Austria believe that the OSCE must remain a vital platform for coordinating approaches to the key issues on the European agenda. Both Austria and Russia stand for the fullest possible use of the OSCE potential in the interests of settling the crisis in Ukraine.

We underscored that there is no alternative to the full and step-by-step implementation of the Minsk Agreements, including the provision of a special status to Donbass, which must be sealed in the constitution, as well as regional elections and amnesty. These issues must be decided in a direct dialogue between Kiev, Donetsk and Lugansk with the mediation of the OSCE and the Normandy format countries.

We also exchanged views concerning Russian-EU relations. We know that awareness is growing in many EU countries, including Austria, on the need to resume full dialogue based on pragmatism and respect for the national interests of every country.

Russia and Austria also maintain dialogue on other international issues, such as the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the fight against terrorism and extremism. We hope that this dialogue helps Russians and Austrians to better understand each other.

To be continued...