Austrian Chancellor and Putin critic Karl Nehammer will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Russian capital of Moscow on Monday in order to build bridges between Russia and Ukraine and to put a stop to the “war of aggression”.

Nehammer’s meeting on Monday will mark the 49-year-old Austrian’s first face-to-face encounter with Putin since the Russian invasion of Ukraine which began on February 24.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed the announcement to news agency RIA.

“I’m going to meet Vladimir #Putin in Moscow tomorrow,” Nehammer wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

“We are militarily neutral, but (have) a clear position on the Russian war of aggression against #Ukraine,” he wrote, referring to Austria’s position. “It must stop! It needs humanitarian corridors, ceasefire & full investigation of war crimes,” he added. 

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According to Austrian news agency APA, Nehammer told reporters that his visit to Moscow aims to be a “bridge builder” between the two countries at war. He added that he hopes to “do everything possible to make (the war) stop” and to “ensure that steps are taken in the direction of peace.”

However, the European leader added that the probability of achieving substantial progress on the issue remains slim.

On Twitter, Nehammer revealed that he had talked to other “European partners” regarding his trip to Moscow, including European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, “and of course also Ukrainian president.”

Nehammer’s Moscow visit comes after the European leader met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Saturday.

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Austria, a nation that has managed to stay neutral, has been offering aid to war-torn Ukraine by providing body armour and helmets for civilians, but no weapons.