Given the disturbing images of alleged war crimes in Ukraine, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen has strongly condemned the relevant events. You don’t just accept something like that, he explained during a visit to Irish President Michael D. Higgins. According to Van der Bellen, perpetrators and clients must be held accountable.
Since the weekend, images around the world have horrified corpses in the streets of the city of Bucha, not far from Kiev. About 330 dead have been reportedly recovered so far. From the Ukrainian government’s point of view, they are evidence of targeted killings of civilians and thus war crimes. Moscow denies this and speaks of “forgery” – but without providing any evidence. Atrocities had previously been reported from the Ukrainian city of Irpin.
Van der Bellen: ‘Don’t flinch’
“We will not get used to it,” said Van der Bellen, referring to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the refugee flow. Therefore, one should not “withdraw” until the bloodshed is over. Until then, it is important to mitigate the effects of the war. A peace solution for Ukraine “can only be based on international law”, the Federal President emphasized.
Higgins advocated diplomacy, multilateralism and disarmament. For the Irish president, the killing of civilians and destruction in Ukraine “which violates all international standards” must stop. “That’s the most important thing now.” Russian President Vladimir Putin must be aware that he is dragging Russia into the abyss with him.
Austria against gas embargo
On a possible EU import embargo on Russian gas, Van der Bellen said: “Austria has been against such an embargo until now.” against Ukraine offers a “huge leeway”.
You have to consider where the damage would be greater “in the EU or in Russia”, and there are “completely different dependencies” on Russian gas between EU countries. Gas is not only needed for households, it is “a central input in many industrial sectors. It’s not that easy to walk there.”
“Huge investment backlog” in the military
Like Austria, Ireland is an EU member, but not a NATO member. Asked about debates in both countries about rearranging national security and defense policies in view of the war in Ukraine, Higgins spoke out for a debate in Ireland on how to structure Irish neutrality. However, this must be done “expertly”. He would also welcome neutral or non-aligned states in the EU – such as Sweden or Finland – to maintain a permanent dialogue and coordination with each other in these policy areas.
In his response, the Federal President clearly referred to a “huge investment backlog” in the military, which is unavoidable “if you take national defense seriously” and if you want to cooperate with troops from other countries on UN peacekeeping missions.
Source: Krone
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