Putin Says Russia Not Aiming to Divide EU

President Vladimir Putin has insisted Russia is not trying to split the European Union, according to BBC.

He was speaking hours before arriving in Austria, on his first trip to Western Europe in almost a year.

He told Austrian ORF television he wanted a “united and prosperous” EU, calling it Russia’s most important commercial and economic partner.

The pro-Putin United Russia party has close links with far-right parties in the EU, which alarms many liberals.

The two populist parties now ruling Italy favour closer ties with Moscow and are both Eurosceptic.

In his interview Mr Putin played down the links between United Russia and Austria’s far-right Freedom Party, the FPÖ. The parties have a co-operation agreement, but the FPÖ denies claims it has received money from Moscow.

The FPÖ has some key posts in Austria’s coalition government - it is in charge of the interior ministry and defence - and says it wants to get the EU sanctions on Russia lifted. However, the coalition has agreed to back EU policy on sanctions.

Italy’s new government openly called for a review of EU sanctions on Tuesday, starting with those that “threaten civil society in Russia”. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told parliament in Rome that Italy was in favour of opening up towards Russia, which represented a key partner for Italian business.

Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 triggered the sanctions, later ratcheted up as Russia helped separatists in eastern Ukraine, and relations with the EU remain frosty.