Austrian leader starts meeting with Putin on Moscow trip -media

Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Monday became the first European Union leader to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin since the invasion of Ukraine, as various Austrian media including newspaper Kronen Zeitung said the meeting had started.

As news of Nehammer's visit aimed at helping end the war emerged on Sunday, reactions ranged from surprise to dismay. Nehammer's own coalition partner the Greens condemned the trip as a public relations coup for Putin, although German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he welcomed it.