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Mr Federal President, ladies and gentlemen,

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we are pleased to welcome and receive Mr Alexander Van der Bellen 

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and his spouse in Russia.

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Notably, this day next year, May 15,

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will mark the 65th anniversary of signing the fundamental state treaty 

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between the four victorious powers in World War II and the Austrian 

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side to reinstate an independent and democratic Austria.

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This document became an important building block of post-war life 

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in Europe, guaranteeing Austria’s neutral status and peaceful future.

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I want to emphasise that relations between Russia and the Republic 

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of Austria have for decades rested on the principles 

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of neighbourliness, mutual respect and consideration 

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of each other’s interests. We maintain an intensive political dialogue.

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Mr Van der Bellen and I met in Vienna a year ago.

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We keep in touch with Federal Chancellor of Austria 

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Sebastian Kurz as well.

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I saw him at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing not long ago.

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Today’s talks with the President of Austria were held 

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in a traditionally friendly and businesslike atmosphere,

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and showed Russia and Austria’s interest in the progressive 

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expansion of bilateral ties.

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We had a restricted-format meeting,

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followed by a meeting with the participation of ministers and heads 

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of departments and major companies,

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where we discussed in detail almost every aspect of Russian-Austrian 

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cooperation and outlined specific plans for the future.

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Austria is one of Russia's major economic partners in Europe,

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therefore, during the talks, we paid much attention 

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to trade and investment cooperation.

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Last year, bilateral trade increased by over 40 percent 

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to reach almost $6 billion.

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At the beginning of this year, trade increased by another 76 percent.

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The amount of accumulated Russian investment in the Austrian economy 

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exceeds $27 billion, and Austrian investment in Russia is 

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approaching $5.5 billion.

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These achievements are largely facilitated by the efficient work 

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of the Mixed Russian-Austrian Commission for Trade and Economic 

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Cooperation and its meeting on the sidelines of the St Petersburg 

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Economic Forum in May of last year.

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Incidentally, the Austrian delegation was one of the most 

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substantial at the forum.

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We hope that this year Austrian businesspeople will also be 

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active at the forum.

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We also look forward to the arrival of Austrian industrialists 

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at the INNOPROM international exhibition and a global summit 

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on production and industrialisation that will be held 

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in Yekaterinburg in July.

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We have invited Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz to these 

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important events. We hope he will accept the invitation 

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and head the Austrian delegation.

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I would like to note that Russian and Austrian companies closely 

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cooperate on various industrial projects: in equipment 

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manufacturing, high-tech and communications.

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Austria has invested in over 

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1,200 companies in Russia.

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They want to develop long-term business in this country 

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and increase localisation.

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Thus, in June RusHydro and Voith Hydro plan to develop equipment 

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for power stations in Saratov Region.

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Gabriel-Chemie is building a plant to produce colourants and additives 

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for plastics, while Green Source and Core Value are launching 

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the manufacture of components for solar power stations 

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in Ulyanovsk Region. These projects are carried out under the 2011 

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Declaration on Partnership for Modernisation.

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In all, the two countries plan to implement 28 joint innovation 

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projects, which are valued at about 3 billion euros.

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Energy is key to bilateral interaction.

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For over half a century now, Russia has been a steady 

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supplier of energy to Austria.

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Record-breaking volumes of Russian natural gas –

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over 12 billion cubic metres – were made available 

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to Austrian consumers last year.

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Gazprom and OMV are carrying out a project to develop the South Russian 

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oil and gas field, and are jointly building Nord Stream 2.

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We, in Russia, greatly appreciate Austria’s consistent support of this 

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project, which is designed to ensure the energy security 

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of the entire European continent.

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Extensive international contacts and region-to-region contacts are 

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an important part of bilateral cooperation.

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Russian Regions Day, with the participation of 14 Russian regions 

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and over 150 representatives of Austrian companies and federal 

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departments, was held in Vienna in March with good results.

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Of course, I would be remiss not to mention our active cultural 

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and people-to-people contacts and ties.

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This year marks the cross year of youth exchanges designed to help 

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young Russians and Austrians learn more about the two 

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countries’ cultural heritage.

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An agreement was reached to hold Literature and Theatre 

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Year in 2020–2021. The corresponding departments have started preparing 

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an extensive programme of activities to promote literary and theatrical 

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art and to expand the use of the Russian and German languages.

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Notably, civil society cooperation is making great strides.

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Shortly after the talks, Mr Van der Bellen and I will meet with 

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participants of the constituent meeting of the Sochi Dialogue Forum,

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which we agreed to institute at our meeting in Vienna last year.

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I expect that the forum will focus on strengthening diverse ties 

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between the citizens of our countries in science, the arts,

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sports and education.

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In closing, I would like to thank the Federal President of Austria 

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and our Austrian colleagues for the substantive and constructive 

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dialogue and for the constructive and substantive talks.

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I am confident that the agreements we reached today will benefit 

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Russian-Austrian relations in their entirety.

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Thank you.

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Mr President,

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Thank you very much for inviting me to Sochi and giving me 

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such a friendly welcome.

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I had an interesting and substantive discussion with 

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President Putin and the Government.

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We had an opportunity to exchange opinions,

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arguments and different perspectives on a number of issues.

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Russia and Austria traditionally enjoy excellent relations,

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and not just in the 21st century,

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but long before that as well.

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President Putin mentioned the 1955 Austrian State Treaty,

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the anniversary of which we are marking today.

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It was signed in Austria on May 15, 1955,

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thus proclaiming the sovereignty of Austria as a follow-up 

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to the 1943 Moscow Declaration.

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Thus, we can point to long-term Austrian-Russian relations.

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We plan to deepen these relations in a variety of areas.

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I am pleased to inform the President that the Salzburg Museum is 

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prepared to bring back, in the autumn,

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the antiquities that were removed from Russian collections 

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during World War II. Of course,

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we discussed the possibility of restitution regarding the so-called 

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‘Jewish archives,’ which were relocated from Austria 

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to Russia during the war.

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I covered various areas, ranging from culture and science 

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to the economy, primarily, energy, where our cooperation spans decades.

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Last year, we marked the 50th anniversary of cooperation 

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between OMV and Gazprom. You see, it goes back to Soviet times.

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Austria is represented in Russia by hundreds of enterprises 

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and divisions. Former president of the Austrian Federal Economic 

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Chamber Christoph Leitl said Austrian companies come here to stay.

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Please do not take this as a threat;

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no, I am talking about cooperation and mutual interests.

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We talked about international relations, for instance,

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between the European Union and Russia.

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It is no secret that the predecessors in Ukraine were 

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irritated by Russia-EU relations.

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I said I would be happy if there were a positive impetus from either 

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side as regards the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

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However, let us be realistic; now we need to wait for the developments 

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regarding the parliamentary election in Ukraine in October.

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However, as I said, Austria’s long-standing mantra is to maintain 

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dialogue despite very different opinions on some issues.

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We had an interesting conversation about yesterday’s visit of Secretary 

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of State Pompeo, in part, as regards the Iranian issue,

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what this will or may mean for EU-Russia relations and so on.

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You know, big regrets were expressed here over the JCPOA cancellation 

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and the sanctions that are imposed by the USA against Iran 

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and indirectly against EU member states.

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I am happy that now President Putin and I will join the Sochi Dialogue 

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constituent meeting. I am always fighting with the definition between 

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“civil” and “civic” because it is primarily about cooperation at many 

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different levels: culture, art, science and maybe writing and music,

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etc. It is not necessarily linked to politics.

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I think the Sochi Dialogue forum should further deepen 

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and consolidate Austrian-Russian relations.

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There are similar forums between Russia and Germany 

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and Russia and France.

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Mr Putin, I used this opportunity and will use it again to invite you 

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to visit Salzburg, the Salzburg festival.

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Next year, in 2020, we will celebrate the centenary of this event 

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and there will be very interesting items on the programme of Russian 

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origin on this occasion. This has been confirmed.

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Russia’s cultural contribution to this festival is a tradition 

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and therefore I will be very happy to see you there.

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Thank you very much for the invitation to Sochi.

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I was very pleased to see something new;

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this is not a traditional visit to the capital,

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this is something different. Thank you very much.

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I would like to talk about your conversation with Mr Pompeo.

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Mr President Putin, you said that both sides are interested 

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in restoring relations between the United States and Russia in full.

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What has to be done to get there? And are you ready for a personal 

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meeting with Mr Trump? What do you think about the idea of holding this 

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summit in Vienna, where the nuclear deal on Iran was concluded?

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Vienna is a good place to hold talks at the highest level, but,

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as I understand it, the closest opportunity to see President Trump will 

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be in Japan during the G20 meeting.

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If the United States is willing to continue contacts in this special 

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mode – I have spoken about this on many occasions –

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we are open to having these talks anywhere, including Vienna.

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I discussed bilateral relations with the Secretary of State yesterday,

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and recently with President Trump over the telephone.

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I can say, at least, this is what we feel,

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that our US partners are interested in restoring relations.

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In any case, in the telephone conversation with the President 

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and yesterday with the Secretary of State,

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we outlined the issues of mutual interest that go beyond bilateral 

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relations, such as strategic stability,

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international security and non-proliferation.

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Our basic agreement in this area, START-3,

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expires in 2021. We need to think about the next step,

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to renew it or not to renew it.

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If we choose to renew, then we need to start full-scale talks now.

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We certainly have a common interest in settling regional conflicts,

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such as Afghanistan, Syria and other troubled areas.

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Unfortunately, there are many of them today.

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This work is unlikely to have any effect without our active 

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involvement. Finally, the North Korean problem.

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We are interested in having it resolved in a way that would have all 

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parties satisfied with the results of the solution.

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Finally, the Iranian nuclear problem and the JCPOA is also a very 

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sensitive issue that is linked with the entire scope 

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of situations in the Middle East.

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Thus, there are many shared interests.

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I believe we have things to focus on in the economic sphere as well.

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I said yesterday that the United States had become the world’s largest 

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oil producer, so we need to ponder our influence 

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on the global energy market.

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There are other areas as well.

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It is a known fact that most Boeing airplanes are made with 

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Russian titanium. We know this,

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but few people in the world are aware of it.

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There are other areas of mutual interest as well.

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Therefore, we remain open to opportunities.

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It is not about us; it is about our US partners.

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As soon as they are ready to go,

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and as soon as the political situation in their country changes 

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and things become possible, we are willing to turn 

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on everything that is needed on our part.

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I hope that proper conditions are being created gradually,

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especially after Mr Mueller’s report,

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who stated that there was no collusion between Russia 

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and the current US administration.

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To reiterate, there was no interference in the elections 

230
00:18:21.139 --> 00:18:24.972
whatsoever. Let us see what happens next.

231
00:18:32.652 --> 00:18:37.309
I have a question to both leaders.

232
00:18:37.309 --> 00:18:44.165
What do you think about US threats of possible sanctions over Nord 

233
00:18:44.165 --> 00:18:49.997
Stream 2? Can the Austrian company OMV quit this project 

234
00:18:49.997 --> 00:18:56.506
because of such risks?

235
00:19:03.486 --> 00:19:11.446
I think I can say that OMV does not have the slightest intention 

236
00:19:11.446 --> 00:19:17.901
of quitting Nord Stream 2.

237
00:19:17.901 --> 00:19:23.310
Austria is not going to abandon the Nord Stream 2 project.

238
00:19:23.310 --> 00:19:26.146
OMV is an Austrian gas company and they certainly do not 

239
00:19:26.146 --> 00:19:28.269
have any such intention.

240
00:19:28.269 --> 00:19:35.754
We have invested too much to make this second opportunity for gas 

241
00:19:35.754 --> 00:19:40.299
transit a reality, and we will certainly continue to pursue it.

242
00:19:40.299 --> 00:19:48.971
If American gas were cheaper that Russian gas from Siberia,

243
00:19:48.971 --> 00:19:52.792
maybe the ratio would change in some way,

244
00:19:52.792 --> 00:19:55.533
but now there is no reason to do this.

245
00:19:55.533 --> 00:19:58.879
American LNG is much more expensive than our current sources.

246
00:19:58.879 --> 00:20:02.244
So there is no economic reason at all to change our position.

247
00:20:02.244 --> 00:20:06.739
As for the attempts by our US partners to destroy these or other 

248
00:20:06.739 --> 00:20:12.547
agreements (I am referring to Nord Stream 2 and some other projects),

249
00:20:12.547 --> 00:20:18.094
we have said many times, and I want to repeat this, that,

250
00:20:18.094 --> 00:20:22.596
taken under the pretext of various political reasons,

251
00:20:22.596 --> 00:20:26.913
these are attempts to engage in unfair competition.

252
00:20:26.913 --> 00:20:29.673
There is nothing else behind this.

253
00:20:29.673 --> 00:20:33.510
Yes, our partners know that their product is more expensive and that 

254
00:20:33.510 --> 00:20:39.013
its quality is no better, but they are still trying to impose their 

255
00:20:39.013 --> 00:20:43.790
services on their partners, both in defence and in the economy.

256
00:20:43.790 --> 00:20:49.543
Austria may not be the largest country in the world but in this case,

257
00:20:49.543 --> 00:20:53.481
it does not need nuclear weapons or a large territory 

258
00:20:53.481 --> 00:20:56.333
to defend its national interests.

259
00:20:56.333 --> 00:20:58.695
Political will is all that is required.

260
00:20:58.695 --> 00:21:03.616
Of course, companies have to take into account this pressure,

261
00:21:03.616 --> 00:21:06.410
especially those that operate in the US market.

262
00:21:06.410 --> 00:21:12.418
There is nothing to hide: dependence on the dollar and cooperation with 

263
00:21:12.418 --> 00:21:15.169
the US is heavy in today’s world.

264
00:21:15.169 --> 00:21:18.655
But this is the sovereign decision of a country 

265
00:21:18.655 --> 00:21:21.142
or a company, our partner.

266
00:21:21.142 --> 00:21:27.459
As far as we know, OMV is ready to work with us in the future despite 

267
00:21:27.459 --> 00:21:32.609
this attempt at unfair competition.

268
00:21:32.609 --> 00:21:39.181
But I believe other companies also realise their responsibility 

269
00:21:39.181 --> 00:21:43.512
to their national economies.

270
00:21:43.512 --> 00:21:47.320
This is a serious issue – the cost of the primary source.

271
00:21:47.320 --> 00:21:52.630
Either the entire energy industry of this or that country will cost 

272
00:21:52.630 --> 00:21:59.391
more, and hence, its economy will be less competitive,

273
00:21:59.391 --> 00:22:04.488
or the consumers, including household consumers will use 

274
00:22:04.488 --> 00:22:09.696
a cheaper supplier. This depends on the political choice of our 

275
00:22:09.696 --> 00:22:14.288
partners. For our part, we are willing to carry out this project all 

276
00:22:14.288 --> 00:22:21.905
the way through. And I think we will bring it to its logical completion.

277
00:22:21.905 --> 00:22:25.428
It is easier to work with the Turks than the Europeans.

278
00:22:25.428 --> 00:22:28.053
Erdogan makes a decision and implements it,

279
00:22:28.053 --> 00:22:32.922
and here 27 countries need to come to terms.

280
00:22:32.922 --> 00:22:37.753
We have been chewing gum for years and nothing happens. This is sad.

281
00:22:37.753 --> 00:22:42.901
But the European Union is a major trade and economic partner –

282
00:22:42.901 --> 00:22:48.717
$300 billion is the level we are approaching.

283
00:22:48.717 --> 00:22:50.905
It was $400 billion before the crisis but 300 is not 

284
00:22:50.905 --> 00:22:52.449
a small figure either.

285
00:22:52.449 --> 00:22:59.418
I believe that one’s own interests in the implementation of such 

286
00:22:59.418 --> 00:23:04.495
projects, which certainly match the economic interests 

287
00:23:04.495 --> 00:23:08.848
of Europe in general, will prevail.

288
00:23:14.848 --> 00:23:23.807
I have a question for President Putin and for Mr Van der Bellen.

289
00:23:23.807 --> 00:23:29.004
Tensions over the Iran nuclear deal have been mounting over 

290
00:23:29.004 --> 00:23:33.536
the past several days.

291
00:23:33.536 --> 00:23:42.578
What can Russia do to save this treaty? The Kremlin said it would like 

292
00:23:42.578 --> 00:23:46.061
to keep the treaty intact. What can be done?

293
00:23:46.061 --> 00:23:50.985
A question for President Van der Bellen.

294
00:23:50.985 --> 00:23:55.548
Does Europe expect Russia to save this treaty?

295
00:23:55.548 --> 00:24:01.057
We have always been supportive of this treaty,

296
00:24:01.057 --> 00:24:04.812
and we worked on it for a long time with our partners.

297
00:24:04.812 --> 00:24:11.148
Truth be told, Iran played a key role in having this treaty signed.

298
00:24:11.148 --> 00:24:14.058
The United States, and we stood by and helped 

299
00:24:14.058 --> 00:24:15.845
the participants of this process.

300
00:24:15.845 --> 00:24:18.364
I hope our assistance was effective,

301
00:24:18.364 --> 00:24:21.105
as it took the process to its logical conclusion,

302
00:24:21.105 --> 00:24:24.062
i.e., the signing of the JCPOA.

303
00:24:24.062 --> 00:24:27.232
We regret the fact that the treaty is unravelling.

304
00:24:27.232 --> 00:24:29.170
Our partners, including the United States,

305
00:24:29.170 --> 00:24:30.785
are aware of our position.

306
00:24:30.785 --> 00:24:34.150
We advocated the preservation of these agreements.

307
00:24:34.150 --> 00:24:40.555
Since the treaty was signed, Iran has remained the most audited 

308
00:24:40.555 --> 00:24:44.407
and transparent country in this respect.

309
00:24:44.407 --> 00:24:49.855
I personally had a conversation with the IAEA Director, who told me 

310
00:24:49.855 --> 00:24:53.399
(he told me this in person, by the way, when we met in Sochi)

311
00:24:53.399 --> 00:24:55.554
that Iran is honouring all of its commitments.

312
00:24:55.554 --> 00:24:57.954
Well, what can I add to that?

313
00:24:57.954 --> 00:25:04.278
Nevertheless, our US partners chose to withdraw from this treaty.

314
00:25:04.278 --> 00:25:08.656
We deplore the things that are happening now.

315
00:25:08.656 --> 00:25:12.367
I have repeatedly mentioned this in my conversations with our Iranian 

316
00:25:12.367 --> 00:25:18.698
partners that, in my opinion, it would be better for Iran to remain 

317
00:25:18.698 --> 00:25:21.109
a party to this treaty despite everything.

318
00:25:21.109 --> 00:25:26.333
I am about to say a non-diplomatic thing that may not sit well 

319
00:25:26.333 --> 00:25:31.573
on the ears of our European friends.

320
00:25:31.573 --> 00:25:35.913
The Americans are out, the treaty is falling apart,

321
00:25:35.913 --> 00:25:39.000
and the European countries are unable to do anything to save it and are 

322
00:25:39.000 --> 00:25:42.615
unable to actually work with Iran in order to compensate 

323
00:25:42.615 --> 00:25:44.856
for the economic losses.

324
00:25:44.856 --> 00:25:50.984
However, should Iran ever take the first step in response and declare 

325
00:25:50.984 --> 00:25:52.882
that it is pulling out from somewhere,

326
00:25:52.882 --> 00:25:57.305
the next day everyone will forget that the United States initiated 

327
00:25:57.305 --> 00:26:00.897
the end of the treaty, and the blame for everything will be laid on Iran.

328
00:26:00.897 --> 00:26:08.048
International public opinion will purposefully drift in this direction.

329
00:26:08.048 --> 00:26:09.988
 I have told the Iranians this so many times.

330
00:26:09.988 --> 00:26:15.323
Frankly, I do not see how withdrawing from the treaty will benefit them. 

331
00:26:15.323 --> 00:26:16.936
I am now saying it freely and openly,

332
00:26:16.936 --> 00:26:20.647
because I have told them this many times during our talks.

333
00:26:20.647 --> 00:26:22.745
Let us see what happens next.

334
00:26:22.745 --> 00:26:24.403
Russia is not a firefighting rescue crew.

335
00:26:24.403 --> 00:26:30.004
We cannot save things that are not fully under our control.

336
00:26:30.004 --> 00:26:33.252
We have played our part, and we are ready to continue to play the same 

337
00:26:33.252 --> 00:26:35.915
positive role, but it does not depend solely on us.

338
00:26:35.915 --> 00:26:39.626
It depends on all our partners and all the parties,

339
00:26:39.626 --> 00:26:45.109
including the United States, the European countries and Iran.

340
00:26:48.149 --> 00:26:55.042
I have little to add, unfortunately.

341
00:26:55.042 --> 00:27:05.000
The IAEA inspected Iran 13 times at least and the conclusions were that 

342
00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:14.150
Iran was in compliance with the JCPOA.

343
00:27:14.150 --> 00:27:20.196
The US sanctions are entirely a US decision.

344
00:27:20.196 --> 00:27:28.226
This certainly does not help international relations.

345
00:27:28.226 --> 00:27:34.221
When a country withdraws from a treaty without sufficient cause,

346
00:27:34.221 --> 00:27:39.290
it undermines faith in the treaty in principle.

347
00:27:39.290 --> 00:27:48.657
From the European viewpoint, the most provocative fact is, I believe,

348
00:27:48.657 --> 00:27:58.024
that after withdrawing from the JCPOA the US announced new sanctions 

349
00:27:58.024 --> 00:28:06.848
against Iran and said simultaneously that all European companies 

350
00:28:06.848 --> 00:28:14.586
continuing to cooperate with Iran would also be punished.

351
00:28:14.586 --> 00:28:21.243
Bur here we can put two and two together and see if it works.

352
00:28:21.243 --> 00:28:26.108
US relations with certain companies turn out to be more 

353
00:28:26.108 --> 00:28:31.173
important than with Iran.

354
00:28:31.173 --> 00:28:42.322
The European Union still has not found an effective tool to resist this. 

355
00:28:42.322 --> 00:28:47.389
We have been working on this for about a year.

356
00:28:47.389 --> 00:28:52.518
I remember President Rouhani speaking about this in Vienna.

357
00:28:52.518 --> 00:29:01.555
Evidently, it is very difficult just to up and support Iran.

358
00:29:01.555 --> 00:29:09.820
It is my impression that any additional pressure on Iran will aggravate 

359
00:29:09.820 --> 00:29:14.951
political relations even more.

360
00:29:14.951 --> 00:29:20.790
We can argue about how realistic this is, but, in my opinion,

361
00:29:20.790 --> 00:29:24.715
if the US keeps putting pressure on Iran,

362
00:29:24.715 --> 00:29:31.607
it will increase the risk of a new crisis the way it happened with Iraq 

363
00:29:31.607 --> 00:29:36.047
several years ago, and no one in Europe wants this to happen.

364
00:29:42.607 --> 00:29:48.593
This question isfor both you, Mr Putin, and your partner.

365
00:29:48.593 --> 00:29:54.720
Observing today’s talks, one gets theimpressionthat the Russian-Austrian 

366
00:29:54.720 --> 00:29:58.717
dialogue is much different from the general Russian-European 

367
00:29:58.717 --> 00:30:03.575
dialogue, figures are going up and the political dialogue 

368
00:30:03.575 --> 00:30:05.770
is much more active. In this respect,

369
00:30:05.770 --> 00:30:09.823
how much do European sanctions interfere with Russian-Austrian 

370
00:30:09.823 --> 00:30:14.077
cooperation? Perhaps we could say that the hard line 

371
00:30:14.077 --> 00:30:19.422
in Europe is giving way to Euro-pragmatism?

372
00:30:20.982 --> 00:30:22.799
Sanctions always interfere.

373
00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:31.142
These are illegitimate actions that sidestep the UN Security Council.

374
00:30:31.142 --> 00:30:35.141
Only the UN Security Council can introduce such restrictions,

375
00:30:35.141 --> 00:30:38.218
and everything else is illegitimate and violates current 

376
00:30:38.218 --> 00:30:40.127
international law. Unfortunately,

377
00:30:40.127 --> 00:30:42.657
this is the practice today.

378
00:30:42.657 --> 00:30:48.216
We live under these conditions and understand that we 

379
00:30:48.216 --> 00:30:51.061
cannot change this unilaterally either.

380
00:30:51.061 --> 00:30:53.835
I have said this many times and would like to repeat that we are willing 

381
00:30:53.835 --> 00:30:59.488
to be flexible and seek compromise,

382
00:30:59.488 --> 00:31:05.663
to search for solutions to all complicated issues and problems,

383
00:31:05.663 --> 00:31:15.077
but not at the expense of our fundamental interests,

384
00:31:15.077 --> 00:31:17.671
our fundamental national interests,

385
00:31:17.671 --> 00:31:18.784
that is all there is to it.

386
00:31:18.784 --> 00:31:21.624
Otherwise, we are flexible enough in our approach to all kinds 

387
00:31:21.624 --> 00:31:25.391
of issues, including those with our European partners.

388
00:31:25.391 --> 00:31:29.797
Once again, overall, trade is growing not only with Austria but with 

389
00:31:29.797 --> 00:31:31.331
other European countries as well.

390
00:31:31.331 --> 00:31:35.901
Our trade with the US increased by 25 percent last year.

391
00:31:35.901 --> 00:31:40.609
Actually, the absolute numbers are negligible, very small,

392
00:31:40.609 --> 00:31:42.555
yet it grew by 25 percent anyway;

393
00:31:42.555 --> 00:31:48.790
this is a good trend. Trade has grown with Europe much more so.

394
00:31:48.790 --> 00:31:54.522
Our trade topped 400 billion dollars before the crisis,

395
00:31:54.522 --> 00:31:57.932
it stood at 200 last year, whereas now it has reached 300 after 

396
00:31:57.932 --> 00:32:00.271
increasing by almost 80 billion.

397
00:32:00.271 --> 00:32:07.360
This is significant growth; it is almost similar in percentage to what 

398
00:32:07.360 --> 00:32:08.992
we have with Austria.

399
00:32:08.992 --> 00:32:12.698
But we just sell fuel to Austria, the price of which has now gone up,

400
00:32:12.698 --> 00:32:15.548
this is why the price indicators are better.

401
00:32:15.548 --> 00:32:21.460
As for industrial cooperation and related issues,

402
00:32:21.460 --> 00:32:23.924
this is also moving ahead with these countries –

403
00:32:23.924 --> 00:32:25.944
with Germany, France and Italy.

404
00:32:25.944 --> 00:32:30.549
It is hard to say where progress is better, but in any case,

405
00:32:30.549 --> 00:32:33.025
we are happy with the way our relations are developing.

406
00:32:33.025 --> 00:32:38.650
Of course, it would have been better to have no politics-related 

407
00:32:38.650 --> 00:32:45.677
restrictions, no politically motivated limitations.

408
00:32:45.677 --> 00:32:48.981
They always stand in the way, it hurts everyone.

409
00:32:48.981 --> 00:32:51.367
By the way, it might hurt us to a lesser degree.

410
00:32:51.367 --> 00:32:57.336
The EU countries lost tens of billions of euros,

411
00:32:57.336 --> 00:33:05.383
and behind this are jobs, wages and the incomes of the workers employed 

412
00:33:05.383 --> 00:33:11.729
by the European companies that could have worked in our market.

413
00:33:11.729 --> 00:33:16.590
I hope one day we will rebuild the entirety of our previous 

414
00:33:16.590 --> 00:33:20.364
relations and move forward.

415
00:33:26.244 --> 00:33:37.847
I think regarding the economy, the worst is behind us.

416
00:33:37.847 --> 00:33:46.115
As to the sanctions, you know as well as I do that there are certain 

417
00:33:46.115 --> 00:33:52.786
political conditions, the Crimea situation and so on.

418
00:33:52.786 --> 00:33:57.765
It is not that easy to find a way out now.

419
00:33:57.765 --> 00:34:02.470
I can agree with you, Mr President, as an economist,

420
00:34:02.470 --> 00:34:06.384
that the sanctions hurt everyone.

421
00:34:06.384 --> 00:34:10.706
Initially, Austria had a lot of difficulties with this,

422
00:34:10.706 --> 00:34:17.594
but we have adjusted our trade parameters in the past three 

423
00:34:17.594 --> 00:34:24.174
or four years. Before, we sold finished products 

424
00:34:24.174 --> 00:34:28.967
(like apples and so on), whereas now it is technological 

425
00:34:28.967 --> 00:34:38.292
know-how, machines. The situation is unsatisfactory from an economic 

426
00:34:38.292 --> 00:34:43.368
point of view, and I do not think anyone will argue with that.

427
00:34:43.368 --> 00:34:45.440
Thank you.