Following the visit of Chancellor Karl Nehammer to Kiev on Saturday, Ukrainian Ambassador to Vienna Wassyl Chymynez expects Austria to play a “constructive role” in the current sanctions issues related to Russia and actively participate in the reconstruction of the country. He said that in a phone call to the APA Friday afternoon.
“It is important that the Chancellor is on the ground in Kiev and makes it clear that he is on the side of Ukraine,” Chymynez said. Nehammer’s planned talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are particularly relevant in relation to the expectation that Austria will play an active role in Ukraine’s reconstruction.
Kiev expects reconstruction aid
“The federal government and the Austrian economy can get involved in many areas,” the diplomat emphasized. Many hospitals have been destroyed, bridges and roads have to be built and renewed, war damage has to be repaired and people have to be helped to resume their normal lives.
Specifically, Chymynez also said that Ukraine wants to start reconstruction in the liberated areas around Kiev as soon as possible. In addition to the Ukrainian capital, the Austrian chancellor will also visit the city of Bucha in the Kiev region on Saturday, where more than 300 civilians have been killed in suspected Russian war crimes in recent weeks.
“EU sanctions not adequate”
The sanctions imposed so far by the European Union are “inadequate given Russia’s current war crimes,” the ambassador said. “We call on the EU and its member states to introduce tougher sanctions.” At least on the oil front, he expects the Austrian side to play a constructive role. Chymynez reiterated the responsibility of European and Austrian companies that remained active in the Russian market.
After Nehammer’s visit, he also expects a decision to reopen the Austrian embassy in Kiev, Chymynez explains, citing steps taken by other EU countries and the EU representation. The Austrian embassy, which officially dubs the capital from modern-day Ukrainian and has now been writing “Kiev” as a symbolic gesture since Friday, has recently been alone in a branch in western Ukraine’s Uzhgorod.
Source: Krone
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