Austria Plans To Open Consulates In Russia's St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk- Foreign Minister

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published March 12, 2019 | 05:27 PM

Austria plans to open a consulate general in the Russian city of St. Petersburg and an honorary consulate in the Russian city of Novosibirsk, Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl said on Tuesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th March, 2019) Austria plans to open a consulate general in the Russian city of St. Petersburg and an honorary consulate in the Russian city of Novosibirsk, Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl said on Tuesday.

"We are expanding the network of our consular institutions. I would specifically like to mention that we are waiting for the Russian side's approval and are planning to open an Austrian consulate general in St. Petersburg and an honorary consulate in Novosibirsk," Kneissl said after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

She added that Austria wanted to establish a visa-free regime for student exchanges with Russia.

"We are working toward ensuring that student visas are not subject to duties," Kneissl said.

Lavrov has praised talks with Kneissl as "good, detailed and fruitful," since the two foreign ministers have discussed a number of issues on the international agenda and signed a statement on the establishment of the Sochi Dialogue forum, set to promote civil society dialogue between the two countries.