Eighty Tyrolean politicians headed by Tyrol's head Günther Platter and President of the Chamber of Commerce Jürgen Bodenseer visited Moscow and Saint-Petersburg to discuss the prospects of mutual economic cooperation.
"Tyrol won't be able to solve the problem of sanctions. But we have old acquaintances and friendships with Russia, and we want to develop our economic relations," head of the delegation Günther Platter told the newspaper.
"We want to revive old friendships and demonstrate Tyrol's special position compared with the rest of the EU," the official said.
Bodenseer held talks with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak and Minister of Economy Alexei Ulyukayev. Both sides discussed cooperation between Russia and the Austrian region in the fields of tourism, student exchanges, sports and trade.
According to the newspaper, Austrian politicians were satisfied with the negotiations.
"I expect the improvement of economic relations between Russia and Tyrol. The number of participants of our delegation impressed the Russians. They felt that we were serious," Platter concluded.
Following the move, many EU officials and businesses have repeatedly called for the lifting of the EU sanctions. The restrictive measures led to significant financial losses for many businesses in Europe and had negative impact on the EU economy, in particular agriculture.
