Europe Minister Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP) has granted entry permits to Russian parliamentarians for a conference of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on 23/24. February defended. “It is Austria’s duty to issue the correct visa here too,” Edtstadler said in Brussels on Tuesday.
The OSCE is an international organization based in Austria and members must be able to participate in the session. However, the visa applies “exclusively” to participation in meetings and “no other events and certainly not for participation in the Academic Ball”, Edtstadler emphasizes. The Russian side has taken note of this, the minister added. Edtstadler said she had “no reason to believe that visas issued for this purpose would be overrun”.
Russian MPs at the Academic Ball?
In the run-up, it was speculated that the Russian parliamentarians would participate in the event organized by the FPÖ on 24 February at the Hofburg in Vienna as part of their OSCE visit. However, the head of the Russian delegation, Pyotr Tolstoy, denied the plan this weekend.
Criticism of the Austrian approach came from the Croatian Secretary of State for Europe, Andreja Metelko-Zgombić. “We must keep the people subject to sanctions away from our meetings, even if they are from the OSCE,” Metelko-Zgombić said in Brussels on Tuesday.
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.
