Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg stressed that “our position is clear, we are in solidarity with the European Union in its position regarding Russia’s war against Ukraine, and we must strongly support Ukraine and send a signal to Russia that Ukraine is part of Europe. “We view Russia’s war against Ukraine as a threat to the collective security of Europe,” he said.

He explained at a press conference: “We are now discussing with our European partners the imposition of the sixth package of sanctions against Russia, and getting out of dependence on Russian energy carriers requires a long time and high costs”, noting that “there is no minimum intention to join NATO now, and we will remain a state.” We are neutral and our political goal is very clear: get rid of dependence on Russian gas.”

“We are currently discussing opening up our country’s independence from Russian energy, and that will take time,” Schallenberg said, adding that “Finland and Sweden joining NATO is important because it goes against what Russian President Vladimir Putin wants.” .”