Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday afternoon to discuss the war in Ukraine. The chancellor, the first EU head of government to travel to Russia since the war broke out, described the meeting as “very direct, open and hard”. Reactions at home and abroad have been mixed.
Since the outbreak of the war, there has been no EU head of government in Putin in Moscow; contact has only been made by telephone, for example with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Only Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett traveled to Moscow in early March as a mediator for a meeting with Putin.
There was criticism of Nehammer’s initiative at home and abroad, but also praise. “I don’t think Putin can be approached,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said Monday at the EU Council of Foreign Ministers in Luxembourg, according to Reuters news agency. He urged Western politicians to travel to Ukraine instead. Nehammer was already on a mission in Ukraine on Saturday.
“Expectations were not very high”
According to Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, expectations for Nehammer’s meeting with Putin were not very high. “The trip mainly relates to the peace efforts and the humanitarian situation. Of course it is important that contacts are maintained, but Austria does not seem to have too high expectations,” said the Finnish news agency STT Haavisto, speaking on the sidelines of the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
FPÖ boss surprisingly tame
The Greens were cautious to critical of the trip. The opposition in Austria was skeptical of Nehammer’s success. FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl was surprisingly tame. He even welcomed Nehammer’s attempts to mediate with Putin.
Scholz welcomes chancellor’s trip
Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) defended Nehammer’s initiative. “Any vote that makes Putin clear what reality is like outside the Kremlin’s walls is not a lost vote,” the minister said Monday ahead of a meeting with his EU counterparts in Luxembourg. German Chancellor Scholz also welcomed the meeting. According to Reuters news agency, the German government is supporting all diplomatic efforts to end the war.
Praise from Hungary for Nehammer
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó stressed that any contact with Russia would be welcome. Because this personal contact ensures the survival of diplomacy and gives hope that after some time the war can be ended through diplomatic channels, the minister emphasized on Monday, according to the Hungarian news agency MTI. The right-wing Hungarian government of Viktor Orbán, previously considered highly pro-Russian, supports EU sanctions, but is also trying to liaise with Moscow.
The European Commission said it was eagerly awaiting the results of the meeting. “What matters is that the common position of the European Union, which was adopted at Versailles and at the European Council, is clearly reflected,” Martin Selmayr, European Commission representative in Vienna, told journalists. The main message was that “Russia’s illegal aggression in Ukraine” was clearly condemned.
Source: Krone
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