Austria is not the only EU country I’m talking Germany, Hungary and some other EU member states express a similar point of view against Russia’s natural gas embargo. This was announced by Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Wednesday, April 13.
Austria is not alone in opposing the gas embargo. The same view is shared by Germany, Hungary and other EU member states.
On the other hand, Austria, together with the EU countries, strongly supports the sanctions against Russia.
“But the sanctions should hit Russia more than the EU,” he said. CNN.
Nehammer said the EU intends to impose more restrictions on the Russian Federation, but “will do so in a way that does not cause too much harm to the EU itself, and this is particularly related to the imposition of a possible embargo on the supply of Russian oil.” and gas.”
The Austrian chancellor added that the rejection of Russian gas is currently impossible, it will take time.
The EU decided to try everything possible to get rid of dependence on Russian gas. Austria also wants this, but now it is impossible, this process takes time,” he said.
neutral status of austria
Also, Nehammer pointed out that “military neutrality is closely linked to Austrian history, that the question of abandoning it at this time is not worth it”.
April 11 in Novo-Ogarevo passed Negotiations began between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Austrian Chancellor. This was the first contact between the leaders of the two countries since Nehammer took office at the end of 2021.
In addition, the Austrian chancellor became the first leader to visit Russia since the inception of an EU member state. special military operation in Ukraine.
The US, EU, UK and some other states have previously imposed sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities. In addition, according to British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, more than half of Russia’s gold and foreign exchange reserves (60%, or about $350 billion) were frozen.
In particular, the fifth package of restrictive measures of the European Union against the Russian Federation open This includes a ban on coal imports, the closure of ports for Russian ships, the limitation of Russian companies’ participation in EU government purchases, the expansion of the “black list”, as well as a ban on cargo transportation by vehicles registered in Russia and Belarus.
United States, in turn, introduced full blockade sanctions against two more Russian banks and a ban on new investments in the Russian economy. The restrictions also affect Putin’s daughters and family members of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
In March, concerns about Western sanctions against the Russian Federation increased significantly: polls show that almost half of Russians are worried about them. Two-thirds of those surveyed believe that the sanctions directly affect the general population. About a third say the sanctions are already creating problems for them and their families.