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Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday for talks. Nehammer announced this on Sunday. According to his own statements, the chancellor wants to promote a dialogue between Russia and Ukraine. Nehammer also wants to address Putin during the conversation about “war crimes” in Ukraine, as he put it.
04.10.2022 12.18
Online since today, 18:12 (Update: 18:18)
It is the first face-to-face meeting between a head of government of an EU country and Putin since the war broke out on February 24. Nehammer traveled to Kiev with a group of journalists over the weekend to, among other things, assure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj of his solidarity. Upon his return, he announced to the press on Sunday afternoon that he would also meet with the attacker Putin.
The initiative came from him, Nehammer said when asked, even as the trip to Ukraine was being planned. He had arranged the trip to Moscow with EU Commission President von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel, and also briefed Selenskyj and German Chancellor Scholz.
APA/AFP/Ronaldo Schemidt Nehammer during his meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
Nehammer explained his motivation, saying he “planned to do everything possible to ensure that steps towards peace are taken.” Even if the chances of getting something are slim, as he himself admitted. Austria recently expelled four Russian diplomats.
“Image”: Reviews of Ukraine
The German newspaper “Bild” also reported on Nehammer’s visit to Putin. According to “Bild”, this should be met with criticism in Ukraine. “What an overconfidence on the part of the Austrian chancellor that he seriously believes there is some sense in traveling now that Putin has shown how brutal he is a war criminal,” the paper said, quoting a Ukrainian diplomat.