Kremlin Says Austria Sting Scandal 'Has Nothing to Do with Us'

W300

The Kremlin on Monday said the corruption scandal involving Austria's far-right party that caused the government to collapse has nothing to do with Russia.

"This is an incident that has not and could not have anything to do with us," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists in Russia's first official comment on the scandal.

The scandal was prompted by the publication by two German newspapers on Friday of footage from a sophisticated hidden-camera sting in 2017.

In the recordings -- of unknown origin -- Austria's Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache is seen talking to a woman purporting to be the niece of a Russian oligarch, Igor Makarov.

The pair discuss how she could invest in Austria, and Strache holds out the possibility of awarding public contracts in return.

Strache, leader of the far-right Freedom Party, has stepped down in disgrace and Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has called for new elections.

"I can't in any way evaluate the appearance of this video because it has nothing to do with Russia or the president or the government," Peskov said.

"We don't know for sure who this woman is, whether she is an ethnic Russian or a Russian citizen."

The oligarch referred to in the video, Makarov, told the Russian edition of Forbes magazine on Sunday that he is an only child and has "no blood ties" with the woman in the video, with whom "I am not acquainted at all."