Politics

Putin dances at Austrian minister's wedding, setting off alarm bells across Europe

Wedding invitations can be tricky at the best of times, but getting hitched while holding high office carries with it an extra burden.

Attention in such cases is usually focused on whether leaving the wrong guest off the list could set off a diplomatic incident. Yet Austria's foreign minister, Karin Kneissl, appears to have drawn the ire of many across Europe with one guest she did invite to her wedding.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin danced arm in arm with Kneissl at a vineyard in south Austria on Saturday, many were left wondering what Putin's "private visit" could portend for the countries' growing public relationship.

Putin arrived to the wedding carrying a bouquet of flowers, and accompanied by a troupe of Cossack singers to serenade the newlyweds, on a stopover on his way to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel outside Berlin.