“No gas embargo with Austria”
Back to Nehammer: He explained that the sanctions were taken to ensure that the countries involved in imposing them did not suffer. “That’s why there was no gas embargo with Austria, for example.”
However, Nehammer has already identified some signs of wear and tear in the Western and therefore Austrian population as well. “What you can see first of all is that people are frustrated that the sanctions are still not having the effect that we were hoping for, namely that the war would stop.” It takes patience. “We know that the sanctions will have serious consequences for the Russian economy.”
“No additional tightening proper”
However, from his point of view, no further tightening is appropriate at the moment, according to Nehammer. “We have decided on a lot of sanctions. Now it is important to see the effect of these sanctions and while this is not as efficient as we had hoped, I think it is a mistake to think about new sanctions at the moment.”
At the same time, an attempt should also be made to “build bridges” so that “the conflicting parties can talk again”. The objective must be “to find a way to reach a ceasefire”. In this particular case, however, both Ukraine and the Russian Federation would have to be willing to talk. “It’s not predictable at the moment, but you can’t give up.”
“Talking to Aggressor and Victim”
In principle, the UN General Assembly, with key representatives from many countries, is a suitable venue for such advances. “Right now we’re in a place where we can always talk to both the aggressor and the victim. From my point of view, this is important to finding a way to stop the war.”
With the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres For example, before his visit to Moscow in April, he coordinated closely with Russian ruler Putin. Ultimately, there were also successes in establishing “green corridors” that, under Turkish mediation, allow the export of grain from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. “At that time, Guterres welcomed all the activities that we as Austria had established and said it was important for countries to get involved and for negotiations to take place.”
Discussions also about migration
Along with Guterres, Nehammer will become federal president on Wednesday. Alexander Van der Bellen and Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) meet for a bilateral meeting. For Nehammer, there are also exchanges of views with Pakistan’s heads of government (Shebaz Sharif), Iraq (Mustafa al-Kadhimi) and with the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on the agenda.
The main themes will be migration and refugees. Nehammer explained that Pakistan plays a special role as a neighboring country to Afghanistan. In addition, there is currently a wave of migration, which is linked, for example, to “Visa Liberalization by Serbia”. “We have 14,000 asylum seekers from India. Here you have to talk to Serbia that this visa liberalization will be withdrawn again. to close the Western Balkans again.”
“Investing in Africa”
Foreign Minister Schallenberg will also be in New York with his Rwandan counterpart, Vicente Biruta, date. Nehammer said in an interview with Austrian journalists: “It is useful and useful to negotiate with Africa in particular. You have to fight the causes of the flight, that means you have to help people on land. And above all, they shouldn’t make the perilous journey across the Mediterranean, where so many drown.”
Therefore, “investment in Africa” is needed, Nehammer demanded. “That’s why there is a summit between the European Union and the African Union. I think this is important and right.”
Another topic that should not be neglected in the face of the concentrated potential for conflict in New York is climate change. Measures would have to be taken even more quickly, “so that we become less dependent on fossil energy”, formulated the head of government. “It’s not easy. We have to work together. It takes a lot of government investment.” People would have to be accompanied on this “hard path”. Nehammer: “We are available for that.”