Spanish Foreign Minister Welcomes Putin-Nehammer Talks Despite Having Low Expectations

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares welcomed the attempts to establish a dialogue with Moscow during the meeting between Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday

MADRID (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th April, 2022) Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares welcomed the attempts to establish a dialogue with Moscow during the meeting between Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday.

Nehammer arrived in Moscow on Sunday for talks with Putin on the situation in Ukraine. On Saturday, he visited Ukraine, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal, and Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

"Of course, despite my skepticism (to the prospects of the meeting), any attempts to build bridges and establish dialogue is good," Albares told reporters before the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg.

The top Spanish diplomat expressed hesitancy over the result of the Putin-Nehammer talks.

"I don't expect anything significant from this trip," Albares added.

Putin and Nehammer had a one-on-one conversation as part of the chancellor's visit to Moscow. Journalists were not allowed to the meeting, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told reporters earlier in the day.

On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. In response to Russia's operation, Western countries and their allies have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow.