Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, will meet Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, on Saturday for talks about conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, as well as the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline - but not before stopping off to be a surprise guest at a wedding in Austria.

Mr Putin will attend the wedding of the country's foreign minister, Karin Kneissl, to entrepreneur Wolfgang Meilinger at a vineyard in Styria state.

Ms Kneissl is an independent but was selected for the post by Austria's far-Right Freedom Party, which is a partner in the government.

Mr Putin was invited to the ceremony during a visit to Austria earlier this year and the country's media has been buzzing with excitement since the Kremlin confirmed he would be attending earlier this week.

But opposition parties have expressed their anger at Mr Putin's presence at a time when relations between the EU and Russia are on a knife edge.