After a last-ditch trip to Moscow on Monday, which caught many of his European allies off guard, to broker an end to Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, Austrian chancellor Karl Nehammer said that he had no positive impression of his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The talks with the Russian president at a venue outside the Russian capital that, according to Nehammer, were direct, open, and tough, lasted for 75 minutes and, although Putin is a fluent German speaker, they were aided by an interpreter.
Despite being under no illusions about the prospects of the chancellor’s mission succeeding, Austrian diplomatic sources said they felt that the visit was necessary because of Austria’s unique relationship with Russia.
As a state that isn’t a member of NATO, Austria is officially neutral, which is also confirmed in its constitution and has long sought to act as a bridge between European and Russian interests.
Nehammer also underscored following the conclusion of the talks that he felt it was his duty to fly to Moscow and leave no stone unturned stressing at the same time that it was not a friendly visit.
There wasn’t even a joint press conference or press photo shooting with Putin since the Austrian chancellery did not want to give him the satisfaction of exploiting the meeting by showing images of a Western leader in the Kremlin for political purposes.
Nehammer allegedly urged Putin during the talks to establish humanitarian corridors and to investigate the alleged war crimes in Ukraine, but the proposals were allegedly not received well.
After the meeting ended without agreement or compromise, the Austrian Chancellor said that there was a hard confrontation between both of them because Putin was accusing the international community of partiality, and holds the Ukrainian side primarily responsible for the fact the corridors are not holding.
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