Sanktioner mot Ryssland.

ZURICH (Reuters) - Austria’s vice chancellor and leader of the country’s far-right Freedom Party called for ending the European Union’s sanctions against Russia, days before he meets Russian President Vladimir Putin during a trip to Vienna.

Heinz-Christian Strache, whose pro-Moscow party is junior partner to Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s conservatives, has said in the past he did not favor EU sanctions against Moscow over its backing of rebels in Ukraine.

In an interview with the newspaper Oesterreich printed on Sunday, he sharpened his tone.

“It is high time to put an end to these exasperating sanctions and normalize political and economic relations with Russia,” he was quoted as saying.

And then Macron made it clear where he stood. “Russia is an inalienable part of Europe... mistakes have been made in the past... we must work to remove our divisions on many issues,” he said.

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had earlier warmed up to the same theme: highlighting how an energy partnership with Russia was in Europe’s vital interest. He also mocked US attempts to kibosh the proposed Nord Stream 2 pipeline, saying he wouldn’t currently look to Washington for "examples of high governance.”

Russian analysts present this week echoed Schroeder’s assertion that the Americans are wielding sanctions for business advantage. And Putin himself warned how protectionist measures could eventually lead to a devastating global crisis.

“The system of multilateral cooperation, which took years to build, is no longer allowed to evolve. It is being broken in a very crude way. Breaking the rules is becoming the new rule," the Russian president remarked.

While Wang and Abe spoke of mutually respectful relations honed over many years, Macron was in a thoroughly different position. But the young French leader was keen to play the humble guest: beginning his speech with tributes to those in St. Petersburg who had died in the Second World War, before making a lengthy reference to Leo Tolstoy’s War & Peace.

(CNN)French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday called on Russia to work "hand-in-hand" with Europe to end what he described as "one of the most difficult periods of our history."

In an address to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia, Macron made reference to the values of cooperation, multilateralism and sovereignty, while subtly criticizing policies of isolationism and protectionism.
He described Russia as "an inalienable part of Europe" and called for dialogue and trust, saying: "Let us get around the table to talk about things. If we miss this moment then we really lose it forever."
His speech followed an address from Vladimir Putin in which the Russian President warned the world was currently experiencing "a systemic crisis" in global trade rules, in part because of a "new era of protectionism."

BERLIN — Russian President Vladimir Putin is traveling to Austria on Tuesday on his first foreign trip since being sworn in for a fourth term in office last month. The visit, which marks the 50th anniversary of the start of Soviet gas deliveries to Austria, takes him to one of Europe's more Russia-friendly countries at a time when relations between the European Union and Russia are at a low ebb. It's his sixth official visit to Vienna.

EAST-WEST BRIDGE

Austria, unlike many other countries in the 28-nation EU, didn't expel Russian diplomats over the poisoning in Britain earlier this year of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal.

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in March pointed to Vienna's "traditionally good contacts" with Russia and said his government would use them to press Moscow to help clarify the nerve agent attack. He said Vienna was "of the opinion that it is important to maintain channels of dialogue."

That reflects widespread thinking in Austria, going back well before Kurz's current center-right government — Putin's last visit, in mid-2014, was one of his first to the West after Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

Traditionally neutral Austria, which hosts U.N. agencies including the International Atomic Energy Agency, is not a member of NATO. Russian Ambassador Dmitry Lyubinsky recently told the Austria Press Agency that Russia appreciates "Austria's responsible position on questions of the international agenda."

New Italian populist Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has said top priorities for his government will be ending illegal immigration and strengthening ties with Russia.

"We'll be the advocates of an opening toward Russia," including ending European Union sanctions against Russia that hurt "civil society," Conte said in an address to senators in Rome after the upper chamber of parliament voted to support the new populist coalition government in a 171-to-117 confidence vote on June 5.

The lower chamber is also expected to approve the new government in a vote on June 6.

Italy's new leaders face two important dates in June, the first being the Group of 7 summit on June 8-9 in Canada. The second, an EU summit in Brussels, is expected to focus on the region's refugee crisis and reforms of the euro currency bloc.

"We will promote a review of the sanctions system" in meetings with other EU members, making good on campaign pledges to improve ties with Russia, Conte said. "The truth is that we have created a radical change and we're proud of it."

Conte's remarks came as Russian President Vladimir Putin on a visit to neighboring Austria -- where a populist, pro-Russia government also holds power -- said that "everybody has an interest in getting the sanctions lifted -- us too."

BRUSSELS — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia arrived in Austria on Tuesday sensing an opportunity almost unimaginable just months ago: to overhaul frosty relations with a European Union infuriated by President Trump on a host of issues, from climate and Iran to, most recently, tariffs and trade.

Never mind that Mr. Putin was until recently virtually a pariah in Europe after his military interventions in Ukraine, Crimea and Syria; after meddling in European elections and working hard to foment right-wing populist uprisings throughout the Continent; after polluting the political environment with fake news; and after allegedly poisoning a former Russian spy and his daughter in Britain, charges Russia denies.

Mr. Putin was now gaining considerable traction by casting himself as a reliable friend and trading partner to Europe even as the Trump administration was treating its closest allies there as strategic and economic competitors.

“It is not our aim to divide anything or anybody in Europe,” Mr. Putin said in a television interview before he went to Vienna. “On the contrary, we want to see a united and prosperous European Union because the European Union is our biggest trade and economic partner. The more problems there are within the European Union, the greater the risks and uncertainties for us.”

Though careful not to gloat, Mr. Putin had to take great satisfaction in the recent turn of events. Often dismissed as a tactician and opportunist, he was looking more like a grand strategist as Mr. Trump bluntly rejected European demands for an exemption from what Brussels considers illegal and unilateral tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Populist, Russophile parties are in power in Greece, Hungary, Italy and Austria. The prospect of attaining Mr. Putin’s immediate goal of throwing off economic sanctions imposed by the European Union over the last several years suddenly seemed within reach, even without compromise in Ukraine.