Scandal in Vienna Won't Impact Austrian-Russian Ties - Austrian Politician

ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) - Christoph Leitl, a member of the Austrian People's Party (OVP), told Sputnik he believed that a recent political scandal in Austria, which led to a vote of no confidence in the chancellor, would not hamper Russian-Austrian ties.

"No, I'm guaranteeing for that", Leitl said when asked if the recent political turmoil would impact the bilateral ties.

The politician, who is also the president of Eurochambres business association, remarked that Nord Stream 2 project of a pipeline expected to bring gas from Russia to Europe, was "a crossing between politics and economy."

"I think in economy, it's useful and we support it. And politically, there are other reasons, not ideological questions, but economic questions. We know who is standing behind, against it and we know who are in favour. And I hope that those who are in favour are interested in a close connection between Russian economy and European economy", Leitl said St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

OVP chairman Sebastian Kurz had to step down as the chancellor over a scandal involving his coalition partner, the Freedom Party of Austria, whose former leader, Hanz-Christian Strache, was shown in a recently leaked 2017 video pledging to fix public contracts for a woman posing as a Russian oligarch's niece.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on 4 June at a conference of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) that she supported BDI's stand that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was necessary, given German initiative to stop using nuclear and coal energy.

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At the same time, the United States has been opposed to the pipeline. Earlier in May, US senators introduced a bill targeting the pipeline. The senators asked the US State Department to assess the impact that the pipeline can allegedly have on the foreign policy and diplomatic security of Ukraine, which is currently benefiting from the transit of Russian natural gas to Europe via onshore pipelines.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the United States was acting as if it was a "Wild West" era, ignoring the fair competition.

SPIEF is taking place in St. Petersburg from Thursday to Saturday. Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency is an official media partner of the forum.