ZURICH (Reuters) -Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said Russian President Vladimir Putin told him on a telephone call on Friday that Moscow would meet its natural gas delivery commitments and was ready to discuss a prisoner swap with Ukraine.
Nehammer made the comments to reporters after the two leaders held a 45-minute call.
Asked what Putin had told him about gas deliveries, Nehammer said: “He also raised the subject (and said) that all deliveries would be completed in full.”
In a separate statement, the Kremlin said Russia had reaffirmed its commitment to comply with contractual obligations on natural gas supplies to Austria, which gets 80% of its gas from Russia.
Nehammer, who visited Russia last month for talks with Putin, said the Russian leader had expressed readiness to discuss a prisoner swap with Ukraine.
“If he is really ready to negotiate is a complex question,” he added.
(Reporting by Michael Shields, editing by Thomas Escritt and Andrew Heavens)