Austria's far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) began coalition talks with the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), the latter said on Thursday, after the failure of previous parties to form a government.

Austrian far-right Freedom Party (FPO) leader Herbert Kickl called on the conservative People's Party (OVP) to be "honest" in their imminent coalition talks or face the prospect of a snap election, with his support still rising and the OVP's falling.

Austria's president Alexander Van der Bellen has tasked the leader of the far-right Freedom Party, Herbert Kickl, with forming a coalition government. If the talks are successful, Austria will, for the first time,

Talks on forming a new three-party government in Austria have collapsed as the smallest of the prospective coalition partners pulled the plug on the negotiations.

The new, interim leader of Austria's conservatives demanded assurances from the far right on Wednesday that they want to keep Austria free from Russian interference, laying out potential flashpoints as they head into coalition talks.

Austria's far-right Freedom Party (FPO), which won September's parliamentary election with 29% of the vote, is due to start coalition talks with the conservative People's Party (OVP) this week aimed at creating the country's first FPO-led government.