Austrian President-Elect Understands 'Moscow's Importance Will Continue to Grow'

Austrian President-elect Alexander Van der Bellen realizes that Russia's international clout will only increase in the future, Franz Fischler, head of the European Forum Alpbach, told Sputnik Germany.

In an interview with Sputnik Germany, head of the European Forum Alpbach Franz Fischler said that Russia's rising international status is something that is understood by Austrian President-elect Alexander Van der Bellen.

The interview came after Green Party-backed independent candidate Alexander Van der Bellen got the better of far-right Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer in Austria's presidential runoff on December 4.

According to the country's Interior Ministry, Van der Bellen is leading the elections with 60.4 percent of the ballots against the 39.6 percent received by Hofer.

"I think that Alexander Van der Bellen is aware of the fact that Moscow's [international] importance will continue to grow, not to weaken," Fischler said.

He expressed hope that Van der Bellen will not adhere to the Americans' point of view which sees Russia as a regional power.

"Such an assessment is not only incorrect, but even dangerous. I think that our new President would be reasonable enough not to stick to this view," Fischler pointed out.

Earlier, he was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying that "Van der Bellen is a person who can correctly assess Russia's importance for Europe and the future of the world."

"And he will also try to develop good relations with Russia," Fischler emphasized.

According to him, Van der Bellen's win is "the best presidential election result for Europe."

"This result sends a clear signal to the nationalist and the right-wing parties that there is a question mark over whether they can seize power in Europe," Fischler said.

Earlier, RIA Novosti quoted Van der Bellen as saying that it is impossible to resolve the issues related to international conflicts and climate change without Russia's participation.

Notably, 72-year-old Van der Bellen describes himself as "a child of migration," RIA Novosti reported. It added that the former leader of Austria's Green Party, who was born and lived for a long time in Vienna, has Russian roots.

Last century, Van der Bellen's family fled Russia to Germany, later settling in Austria. His colleagues and friends still call him "Sasha", according to RIA Novosti.

Meanwhile, Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern has congratulated Van der Bellen on his victory in the presidential election rerun.

In the first round of Austria's presidential elections in April, Hofer and Alexander Van der Bellen received 35 and 22 percent of the votes respectively, sending them into a head-to-head confrontation in the second round, held in May.

On May 22, Hofer was narrowly beaten by Van der Bellen, by just under 31,000 votes.

Austria's Constitutional Court then ruled that because some ballots and voting results had been handled improperly, the result should be annulled and the election held again.