Putin dances with bride at Austrian wedding

Vladimir Putin dances with Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl

Vladimir Putin dances with Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl

AP

Who wouldn’t want to have a Russian president  at their wedding? Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl, 53, sure did. On Saturday, Aug. 18 Russian leader Vladimir Putin rocked up at her wedding - she was getting hitched to Austrian businessman Wolfgang Meilinger, 54, who apparently shares Putin’s passion for judo.

The leader arrived at the ceremony in the town of Gamlitz a bit late, but he was bearing gifts: A bunch of flowers for the bride and a group of Cossack singers. As the video shows the two politicians even shared a dance.

According to Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, he spent about an hour at the wedding. He presented the couple with an antique oil press, a traditional Russian samovar, and a landscape painting of village life.

Putin also gave a long toast in German thanking the newlyweds for the invitation and “a chance to visit  hospitable Austria.”

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