Putin Attends Austrian Foreign Minister's Wedding (PHOTOS)

11:21 GMT, 18 August 2018

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived at the Graz city airport in the southern Austrian state of Styria, where the wedding of Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl will take place, Oe24 reported Saturday.

Sputnik

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has confirmed that the Russian president had arrived in Austria. The wedding ceremony was postponed as Putin has come later than expected, according to the broadcaster. The ceremony was initially set to start at 2 p.m local time (12:00 GMT).

The Russian leader has presented flowers to the Austrian foreign minister and brought an ensemble of Don Cossacks, who will perform several songs at the wedding.

According to the broadcaster Oe24, Putin traveled from the airport to the wedding ceremony by helicopter. The Russian president was invited by Kneissl to be present at the event during his latest visit to Vienna on June 5.

Later on Saturday, Kneissl will marry businessman Wolfgang Meilinger in a ceremony at the local Gasthaus Tscheppe restaurant.

The Kronen Zeitung newspaper reported that about 300 Austrian police officers will ensure security at the wedding. According to the media, 50 officers from the Cobra special unit will help the police in ensuring the solemn event's security. In addition, the area near the restaurant where the wedding will be held and nearby roads will be closed for traffic for several hours.

The Austrian Foreign Ministry earlier noted that Putin's arrival would be considered a working visit, and the security measures would be similar to those typically applied during a visit of a foreign head of state. It has also said that Russia would cover the costs of Putin's visit.