Former Austrian foreign minister and Russia superfan Karin Kiesl is officially returning to the diplomatic arena, spearheading a project close to the Russian president’s heart.
He will sink his teeth into a new role as ambassador for Siberian tiger conservation in Russia, the Russian state news agency writes. RIA Novosti. The former diplomat will assist the Amur Tiger Center in its international affairs with the Russian defense agency established under the initiative of President Vladimir Putin.
Her new role at the center will provide Kneissl with “potential options to help both holistically and individually,” the center’s director told RIA Novosti.
“She has a lot of experience – that is, the European experience of treating nature, restoring what has been lost, and she understands like no one else how difficult it is and what great efforts the Russian Federation is making,” said the director.
Kneissl, known for Dance at her wedding with PutinNot only keen to save endangered species – she has been a vocal advocate for Russia, her new home, on the international stage.
Headed the Foreign Ministry in Vienna from 2017 to 2019, as an appointee of the diplomatic far-right Freedom Party. Her wedding in the summer of 2018 attracted international attention when the Russian president not only attended the event, but also danced a waltz with the bride. Kneissl, then head of Austrian diplomacy, also cursied for Putin.
The following year, the far-right party was shaken by its leader The Russian collusion scandal and his ministers, including Kneissl, were expelled from the government.
But the Russians Gave her a chance at a new life: She became a regular on the Kremlin-backed international news channel RT and in 2021 she joined the board of state-owned oil company Rosneft.
Last year, Kneissl Went to Russia to lead a think tank in Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg. He actively engages in diplomacy for Moscow, for example, gave a speech A United Nations meeting this July called for an end to arms supplies to Ukraine.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry was impressed by its former leader’s UN speech: “It seems that silly season has arrived in Russia as well,” A spokesperson said At that time.
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