An EU diplomat said the attempt to negotiate with Mr Putin was “f****** pointless”, referring to previously failed diplomatic efforts to urge the Russian president to end his invasion of Ukraine.

In an attempt to reassure the bloc, Mr Nehammer has promised to brief EU leaders on the details of his trip.

Prior to meeting Mr Putin, the Austrian chancellor informed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as EU leaders Ursula von der Leyen, Charles Michel and Olaf Scholz of his trip to Moscow.

Mr Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, had endorsed his colleague’s efforts to find a diplomatic end to the war. A spokesman for the German leader said Berlin “welcomes” any “diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the hostilities”.

Meanwhile at home, Mr Scholz seemingly became embroiled in a row over delivering German tanks to Ukraine, which has highlighted splits in the country’s ruling coalition government.

Annalena Baerbock, the German foreign minister, called for “further military equipment, above all heavy weapons” to be sent to Ukraine, at the EU meeting in Luxembourg.

She added: “Now is not the time for excuses. It’s time for creativity and pragmatism.”

Despite Berlin overturning a long-standing policy of not sending weapons to war zones, it rejected an offer by Rheinmetall, an arms company, to repair and deliver 100 Marder light tanks to Ukraine.

The tanks, owned by the German army, have been decommissioned and are sitting unused in a factory belonging to the firm.

Kyiv has said donations of western vehicles, including tanks and fighter jets, could help give Ukrainian troops an advantage over Russian troops as they intensify their military assault on the eastern Donbas region.