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Austria has the potential to play a mediating role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict because it is a member of the EU but not a NATO country.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer recently held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, marking Mr Putin's first face-to-face meeting with an EU leader since the conflict with Ukraine broke out.
“Austria follows a more balanced approach even than Germany, playing the role of a global mediator and opening up a window for negotiations. This is why, despite being an EU member, it refuses to supply weapons to Ukraine,” said political scientist and associate professor at the Russian State University for the Humanities Vadim Trukhachev.
Sharing the same view, Head of the Department of Political and Social Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences for Europe Vladimir Schweitzer emphasized that Austria has the ability to play an active mediation role because it is a neutral country.
According to Mr. Schweitzer, Austrian leaders have repeatedly stressed that they do not belong to any side and oppose attempts to solve problems by military means.
"Obviously, Austria implements certain policies set by the EU. For the EU, Austria's role at this time is very important because if the leader of an EU country that is not a NATO member visits Russia, it does not complicate the situation," Schweitzer said.
Austria also opposes the oil and gas embargo against Moscow. "Vienna is very dependent on Russia for energy. Austria was a big supporter of the Nord Stream 2 project. And now it continues to emphasize that despite its support for EU sanctions, its national interests will not be affected. These interests include, in particular, gas supplies from Russia," Schweitzer concluded.
According to Tin Tuc Newspaper
