Austria also declares itself ready to welcome Putin for a meeting with Zelensky
In addition to Switzerland, neighboring Austria proposed to welcome the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, despite the arrest warrant of the International Criminal Court (ICC) targeting him, for a summit with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodyr Zelensky.
“If the negotiations take place in Vienna, we will contact the ICC” in order to “Clarify the question” and “Allow President Putin to participate”said Chancellor Christian Storing, in a statement transmitted to the media, recalling “The long tradition” In this area, host of many international organizations (OPEC, AIEA, OSCE, etc.).
The two options might not be to the taste of the Kremlin. Moscow sulks Switzerland, which decided to inflict the sanctions decided by the European Union (EU) and imposed since the large -scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022.
The links have been the same significantly degraded in recent years between Moscow and Vienna. Thanks to its deck position between the blocks acquired during the Cold War, Austria, a neutral country member of the EU but not NATO, previously maintained good relations with Russia.
The latest bilateral Russian-Ukrainian discussions took place in Istanbul, Turkey which, despite its membership in the Atlantic Alliance, is deemed more friendly by Moscow.
