Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vienna | Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images Austria and Putin’s mutual appreciation society The Russian president was given the warmest of welcomes when he visited Vienna.

VIENNA — Austria’s leadership rolled out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, leaving little doubt that despite Moscow’s persistent troubles with the West, Russia has a friend in Vienna.

During the one-day state visit — Putin’s first foreign trip since his reelection for a fourth term — the Russian president met with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen and Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, with both sides stressing their desire to deepen relations.

The focus of the eight-hour visit was more on ceremony and symbolism than substance, however, and the private discussions were relatively short. Upon arrival at Vienna’s imperial palace, the former residence of the Habsburgs that now houses the presidential offices, Putin received military honors. He also visited a memorial to the Red Army in central Vienna, where he laid a wreath. He thanked the Austrian people for tending the graves of “the soldiers who freed the country from fascism.”

“Relations between Russsia and Austria have traditionally been characterized by partnership,” Putin said after meeting Van der Bellen.

Other parts of the tour included a signing ceremony for various bilateral agreements (including an extension of Austrian oil giant OMV’s gas deal with Gazprom until 2040), a stop at a business forum and a jaunt to the museum of art history, which is showing an exhibition of works on loan from the Hermitage.

Such visits are normally routine, but at a time when relations between Russia and the European Union are at a low point, Vienna’s decision to court Putin is striking, especially as it fell just before Austria takes over the EU’s rotating presidency in July.

The trip came as Putin is redoubling efforts to improve ties with Europe amid tensions over the recent poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in the U.K., the war in Ukraine, and Moscow’s support for Syria’s Assad regime.

Despite the concern of some in the EU that Austria is sending the wrong signal by cozying up to Putin — fears magnified by the presence of the pro-Russia Freedom Party in Kurz’s government — the country’s leadership is keen to re-establish itself as a “bridge” between East and West and points to its long history of engagement with Russia.

"We’ve had a good and pragmatic relationship with Russia for decades, even in difficult and challenging times,” Kurz said.

For his part, Putin is eager to achieve a relaxation of the sanctions Russia faces as a result of its incursion into Ukraine and views Austria as an ally.

Kurz stopped short of making any promises on sanctions, but said in a joint appearance with Putin after their meeting that he plans to use Austria’s EU presidency to improve relations, adding he hopes “we can relax the sanctions step by step.”

Austria’s commercial relations with Russia have been hit hard by the imposition of sanctions and the government is under pressure from business interests to push for lifting them. Austria’s leaders have made little secret of their interest in intensifying business ties with Russia, already one of the largest investors in the country.

“We think that a win-win situation is better for both sides than a lose-lose situation,” said Kurz, who referred to Russia as a “superpower.”

In brief appearances in front of the press, both Van der Bellen, whose role as president is largely ceremonial, and Kurz paid lip service to the issue of civil society in Russia, saying only that they raised the subject in the discussions.

It was apparent that the Austrians preferred to avoid the more delicate subjects of Russian aggression and Putin’s treatment of political rivals.

Van der Bellen, a former Green Party leader, stressed that Russia is “a part of Europe,” recounting how his own parents, who were from Estonia, spoke Russian to one another. Russia, he insisted, doesn’t “face a crisis of trust” in its relationship with the West.

The only confrontation Putin faced in connection with the Austrian trip came before he left. In a lengthy interview with Austrian public television that aired Monday evening, the Russian leader faced a barrage of tough questions on everything from the downing of flight MH17 to chemical attacks in Syria. Austrian anchorman Armin Wolf, who is known for his tough interviewing style, interrupted Putin a dozen times during their discussion, refusing to let the Russian leader avoid his questions.

At one point, an agitated Putin shot back: “If you can muster the patience to let me finish you’ll hear my point of view, OK?”

Overall, however, the visit couldn’t have gone better for the Russian leader. The trip was closely watched back home in Russia, where the public is keen to see a thawing of tensions with the West. Now that Austria has broken the ice, it will be easier for other EU countries to follow suit. If Putin accepts more invitations, that is.

“There aren’t many countries our president likes to visit,” said a correspondent for Russia’s Tass news agency, one of about two dozen Russian journalists traveling with the president.

CORRECTION: This story was updated to correct the day of Putin's visit to Austria.