Introduction

Karen Kneisel was Austria's Foreign Minister for 18 months in 2017. She danced at Waltz with Vladimir Putin, who was a special guest at her wedding. The dance and the deep curtsy she gave the Russian President have come to symbolise a relationship between Austria's political elite and Moscow that many find troubling. Ms Kneisel says she was forced to leave her home country after a series of threats. Now lives in exile in Lebanon but remains a vocal critic of Europe's response to the Ukraine war.