canceller Nehammer meets Putin. The reasons for the visit to Moscow
Rome, 11 April – Diplomacy speaks German this time, Vienna side. The Austrian Chancellor, Karl Nehammermeet today Vladimir Putin a Moscow. He is the first European leader to visit the Russian capital since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine. Austria is “militarily neutral “ but at the same time it has a “clear position on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine”, writes Nehammer on Twitter. “It has to stop! We need humanitarian corridors, a ceasefire and a full investigation into war crimes ”, says the chancellor, who in recent days met with President Zelensky in Kiev and visited Bucha.
The Austrian canceller: “Telephone diplomacy is not enough”
“Telephone diplomacy alone is not enough, personal visits are necessary and the neutrality of Austria must be exploited ”, said Nehammer. The meeting with Putin will not be held in the Kremlin, but in the residence of the Russian head of state in Moscow. The objective of the Austrian chancellor is far from leveraging the military neutrality of his nation – in fact, Austria is not a member of NATO – and his desire to act as a “bridge builder”. Because in his opinion it is now essential “to do everything to put an end to this war or at least get a little closer to peace, even if the possibilities are scarce”.
In this sense, “it makes the difference to be face to face and tell him what the reality is: that this president has in fact lost the war morally”, says the Austrian foreign minister Alexander Schallenberg ahead of today’s meeting in Moscow. “It should be – he stresses – in his own interest (Putin’s, ed) that someone tell him the truth. I think it is important and we owe it to ourselves if we are to save lives. We must use every possibility to put an end to the hellish situation in Ukraine ”.
Austria depends on Russian gas
Austria imports most of its gas from Russia (64%). Consequently, it is one of the European countries most exposed and therefore at risk with the possible blocking of supplies. It is in itself more so than Germany and Italy. To get out of the dramatic negotiation will, the Austrian government therefore tries to take the diplomatic path, opening a direct channel with Putin, also to avert an energetic one.
It is no coincidence that Vienna said it was opposed to new economic retaliation against Russia. “We are all very dependent on Russian gas and I think that the sanctions that affect us the most affect Russia are not enough,” said Austrian Finance Minister Magnus Brunner last week. Pure and simple realism, in times of rash moves. It is no coincidence that Brunner, while clearly admitting that what is happening in Ukraine “is extremely hard”, specified that “when it comes to punishment you have to stay cool and if a sanction hurts you more than the other side then it is not the right direction. “.
Eugenio Palazzini