Austrian Prime Minister meets Russian President

“I’m quite pessimistic”, Prime Minister Shirt Karl Nehammer spoke at a press conference in Moscow on April 11, while describing the Russian President Vladimir Putin is “completely in wartime logic”.

“Peace talks always take too long, while military logic says don’t spend too much time and go directly to the battles,” Nehammer said.

Prime Minister Nehammer said that “the Russian side has little interest in meeting face-to-face” with the President Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, but there is a glimmer of hope that Putin continues to be interested in peace talks in Istanbul, Turkey.

“Putin acknowledged that the sanctions made it difficult for Russia, but said that the situation in Donbass must be resolved despite the sanctions,” Nehammer said.

Prime Minister Nehammer also stressed that “a personal meeting is needed to tell the Russian President about the reality of the hostilities that are taking place and what the European Union thinks about it. It is necessary to continue pursuing this path.”

Prime Minister Nehammer also addressed “serious war crimes at Bucha and other locations, emphasizing that those responsible must be brought to justice”. Russia has repeatedly denied that its forces committed war crimes in Ukraine.

Nehammer also told President Putin of the urgent need for humanitarian corridors “to bring water and food into besieged towns, as well as evacuate women, children and the wounded. “. He said he would inform his European counterpart about his talks with President Putin and discuss next steps.

The Kremlin has not commented on the meeting between Prime Minister Nehammer and President Putin.

Earlier, Mr. Nehammer described the meeting at Putin’s residence outside Moscow as “not a friendly visit” but a direct, open and tough discussion. The Austrian government proposed holding a closed-door meeting, without a picture of the meeting or a joint statement from the leaders of the two countries.

Prime Minister Nehammer’s meeting with President Putin took place after he traveled to Kiev, Ukraine and held talks with President Zelensky. Austria, a neutral country, provides humanitarian aid to Ukraine, as well as helmets and armor, to civilians, but does not provide weapons to the country. Austria also criticized Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.

Russia on February 24 launched a military operation to “demilitarize and de-fascist Ukraine”. After more than a month of hostilities, Russia withdrew its troops from the area around the capital Kiev and the city of Chernihiv to focus on the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine.

Fighting in the southern city of Mariupol is concentrated at the Azovstal steel plant, where between 1,500 and 3,000 nationalist fighters are entrenched. The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) leader Denis Pushilin announced that his forces had taken control of the seaport of Mariupol.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says more than 4.5 million people left Ukraine after the outbreak of hostilities, 90% of them women and children because Ukrainian authorities do not allow men. in the age of enlistment to evacuate.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said 1,793 civilians have died and 2,439 injured since the outbreak of hostilities, but warned the actual number could be higher.

Nguyen Tien (According to AFP, TASS)