Entry into European alliances has been at the centre of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and Austria has contrasting views than most of its neigbours. The Austrian Foreign Minister said that Ukraine should not be a part of the European Union.

Alexander Schallenberg, Austria’s dop diplomat and Foreign Minister, said that Ukraine must seek a “different way” to strengthen ties with Europe. He was speaking at the 14th European media summit, Fox News reported.

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“We do not belong to any military alliance and we do not want to,” Schallengerg said at the summit while referring to NATO, a highly exclusive military alliance.

The Austrian minister also put the country’s “self-definition” policy in the spotlight and emphasised that Vienna was “military neutral, but not politically”, ABC News reported.

Ukraine has been on a fast-tracked path to being a member of the European Union after Russia commenced its “special operation” on February 24, 2022. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President, presented Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with the documents earlier this month.

The Eastern European country is expected to be granted membership in May 2022, media reports suggest.

Kyiv was also quick to react to Austria’s stance on its probable membership in the 28-member diplomatic bloc. Oleg Nikolenko, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, said the country was fairly “disappointed” with the view.

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Austria has “ignored the fact that the vast majority of the population of the EU founding member states support Ukraine’s membership”, Kyiv said in a statement, according to reports from ABC News.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelensky was visited by United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Kyiv. The visit marked the most high-level meeting in Ukraine since the invasion began.