Putin’s mobilization – Van der Bellen: ‘We have to be brave’

It remains to be seen what reactions the “partial mobilization of young men” will provoke among the Russian population, Van der Bellen said. But Putin also ordered referendums in the occupied territories. However, according to international law, it is prohibited to hold referendums in occupied territories after a few weeks, emphasized Van der Bellen, who therefore also spoke of “sham referendums” in an interview with the APA. “I think the trick behind it is to use the referendum to declare the occupied territories as Russian territories and thereby interpret any progress made by Ukraine as an advance on Russia,” the head of state said. This is dangerous speculation and would suggest a renewed escalation of the war.

Nehammer spoke of the “danger of a world war”
At a joint press conference with Van der Bellen and Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) on Wednesday, Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) even expressed the danger of a “world war” in this regard. Van der Bellen explained in the APA interview that he hoped things wouldn’t get out of hand this way. He doesn’t expect it either. “Because the Russian leadership must also be aware of the danger of this kind of escalation. Whatever that means for the risks to Russia itself.”

In any case, the position of the European Union is clear, says Van der Bellen. “The sanctions remain in place. Whether they can be adjusted at one point or another is up for debate.”

Putin has courted for years
When asked specifically about this by the APA, Van der Bellen denied that Austrian politics and the domestic economy had courted Putin in recent years, but admitted certain misconceptions. “We’re just used to it, and I personally don’t rule out the possibility that economic relationships generally make living together easier. Why? Everyone benefits from it.” He himself thinks “like a classical economist” and says that “economic relations under peaceful conditions, under fair competition conditions, promote coexistence and prosperity in both countries.”

When it came to Russia under Putin, “we were misled,” Van der Bellen admitted afterwards. It had been forgotten that there were leaders who would accept serious economic losses to their country “to wage an ideologically motivated war,” the Federal President analyzed. “We need to learn this lesson that not everyone thinks as we do in the European Union.”

However, the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the associated side effects have also caused setbacks in the EU’s climate and environmental policy, Van der Bellen regretted. “We could never have imagined that we in the European Union would now also start thinking about where we could get gas supplies again?”, said the head of state, also mentioning the “temporary commissioning of coal-fired power stations” as an example. “In the fight against the climate crisis, coal-fired power plants are the last thing we need? That is where the CO2 emissions are highest.” Therefore, they should really only be temporary measures to prevent the worst crisis of the coming winter. “Let’s see how it goes next spring. The looming climate emergency is clear!”

Also positive developments
However, Van der Bellen also noted positive developments. Thanks to Turkey’s mediation with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whom Van der Bellen met in New York on Wednesday, talks with Russia, Ukraine and the UN enabled grain exports from Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea. “It’s a great story because we just need to see that without these grain exports there is a real threat of famine in many countries around the world.” These aren’t just “limitations like ours,” Van der Bellen noted. Conclusion: “Well, that was a very, very positive event.”

Despite the APA request, Van der Bellen did not dare to take a concrete look at what the UN General Assembly would discuss in light of the turbulent recent events in the coming year: “Am I a prophet?” But he hopes that by September 2023, ‘Corona’ is actually at ‘such a low level’ that ‘we say okay, we’ve basically got that behind us now’. level where they say it’s not as great as it was before the war, but we can deal with it and live with it.”

Meeting with Guterres
As part of his visit to the UN General Assembly, Van der Bellen also met UN Secretary-General António Guterres at UN Headquarters on New York’s East River on Wednesday, along with Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg. (both ÖVP). In the evening (local time), Van der Bellen and Nehammer took the flight back to Vienna. Schallenberg will remain in New York through Friday; his speech to the UN General Assembly was scheduled for Thursday evening (local time).