Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen has again condemned Russia’s offensive war against Ukraine “in the strongest possible terms” and stressed that Austria’s position was “by no means neutral”. Austria is militarily neutral, but: “We are not neutral in the face of the flagrant violation of international law and war crimes,” Van der Bellen said in his New Year’s speech to the diplomatic corps in the Hofburg on Tuesday.
“Neutrality is not indifference,” says Van der Bellen. For the past two years, the traditional reception has taken place online due to the corona pandemic. This year, a hundred ambassadors came to the official residence of the re-elected Federal President.
Russian diplomats not invited
Diplomats from Russia, Belarus and Iran were not invited this time. “We are not neutral towards a country’s struggle to defend its sovereignty and independence and for its freedom.” The “brutal offensive war” has consequences that “reach far beyond Ukraine and Europe,” Van der Bellen stressed, referring to the scarcity of food and energy resources and, as a result, to high inflation rates.
Van der Bellen for reducing energy dependence
The Federal President called for “reduction and diversification of dependencies”, which in Austria is especially true for the energy sector. “The fight against climate catastrophe has been and remains one of my political priorities,” he said, calling it the “biggest global challenge” that can only be solved “together, as an international community of states.”
Van der Bellen also spoke in his speech about “particularly serious and massive attacks on human rights” in Iran and Afghanistan, for example. In the “special year 2023, in which we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we should not look the other way.”
Expert conference in June
And: On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Vienna Human Rights Conference, which made a decisive contribution to the establishment of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Austria will hold an expert conference in June. Austrian Volker Türk has held the position of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights since last year.
Van der Bellen also assured that after the “tragic” earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, Austria will “continue to do its best” to “provide humanitarian aid”.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
