1.   But early on, the sanctions did cause some awkward diplomatic moments as various officials did their best to avoid their Austrian counterparts.

2.   Citizens will be asked whether the government should push for an end to sanctions, which amount to a refusal by European ministers to meet their Austrian counterparts formally.

3.   Only recently, French and German ministers had shunned their Austrian counterparts at such gatherings.

4.   Think of the British diplomat Castlereagh and his Austrian counterpart, Metternich.

5.   After meeting his Austrian counterpart Wolfgang Schuessel, Sacirbey also claimed that Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic was still helping Bosnian Serbs despite public statements to the contrary.

6.   Chancellor-elect Gerhard Schroeder met his Austrian counterpart Wednesday ahead of a European Union summit this weekend.

7.   Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman arrived Monday for a brief working visit and talks with his Austrian counterpart, Viktor Klima.

8.   Fischer came to Rome after a meeting in Vienna with his Austrian counterpart, Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

9.   Havel met with his Austrian counterpart, Thomas Klestil, Thursday during a one-day visit to Vienna.

10.   His Austrian counterpart Herbert Prohaska is cautiously optimistic.