The meeting between Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow was “not a friendly visit,” Nehammer stated in a statement issued by an Austrian official following the meeting.
“This is not a friendly visit. I have just come from Ukraine and have seen with my own eyes the immeasurable suffering caused by the Russian war of aggression,” he said in the statement.
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Nehammer, the first European Union leader to meet with Putin since the invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, described the meeting as “very direct, open and tough.”
The Austrian chancellor stated that his most essential message to Putin was that the war in Ukraine must end because “in a war there are only losers on both sides,” stressing that he hoped to assist bring the war to an end or improve civilian conditions.
”I addressed the serious war crimes in Bucha and other places and emphasized that all those responsible for them must be held accountable. I also told President Putin in no uncertain terms that sanctions against Russia will remain in place and will continue to be tightened as long as people are dying in Ukraine,” Nehammer said.
”I have just come from Ukraine and have seen with my own eyes the immeasurable suffering caused by the Russian war of aggression. The trip to Moscow and the talks with President Putin are a duty for me. A duty out of a sense of responsibility to leave no stone unturned to bring about a cessation of hostilities or at least humanitarian progress for the suffering civilian population in Ukraine. For me, there is no alternative to seeking direct talks with Russia as well, despite all the very great differences,” Nehammer said in the statement.
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”The EU is more united than ever on this issue. I also made it clear to the Russian President that there is an urgent need for humanitarian corridors to bring drinking water and food to the besieged cities and to bring out women, children and the wounded. I will now return to inform our European partners about my conversation with the Russian President and discuss further steps,” he concluded.
