The chancellor of Austria, Karl Nehammer, will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Nehammer is the first leader of a European Union nation to meet with Russia since the invasion of Ukraine began in late February.
This would also be the first face-to-face meeting between a European leader and Putin.
Austria has usually maintained closer ties to Russia than other European countries.
However, Austria has joined the EU’s sanctions against Russia.
Nehammer has also criticized Russia’s takeover of Ukraine and has called for the war to stop.
The Austrian leader’s meeting with Putin comes after he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday.
Nehammer said he wants to act as a “bridgebuilder” between Russian and Ukraine.
However, there was not much optimism in his statement.
He admitted that chances of achieving progress were slim, according to Austrian news agency APA.
French President Emmanuel Macron has spoken with Putin since the war began. However, those have all been phone conversations.
