Citizens of the Russian Federation will remain on the black list
Alexander Schallenberg in an interview with the Wiener Zeitung called EU countries will build up “patience and strong nerves” when taking action against Russia. According to him, maintaining the unity of EU countries is key.
“It is very important that we finally find a common position. It’s perfectly legal to have arguments, why would it be any different with a topic like this? But I think it would be better to have such discussions where they belong, behind closed doors. We are being watched, we don’t want to give the impression of disagreement. With regard to autumn, two points are decisive: first, it is equally important to use unity, a sense of proportion, and not go too far. The surplus will be a complete cessation of entry (to the EU – socialbites.ca) for all 144 million Russians, ”the statement said.
In his opinion, it is necessary to separate the Russian President Vladimir Putin “and his henchmen” and ordinary citizens of the Russian Federation. Geography does not change, Russia remains a part of history and European culture,” he said.
Commenting on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s request to remove the three Russian oligarchs from the sanctions list, the head of the Austrian foreign ministry stressed that this would not happen.
“I can assure you that the EU is united on this issue, the sanctions will not change. The principle of unanimity may be problematic. But we would not have been able to demonstrate this unity without us. At such a tipping point, it is essential to act consistently, even if it is difficult. And we do it,” said Schallenberg.
The Austrian minister believes that the sanctions against the Russian Federation “worked”. According to him, the Russian leader is “shooting himself in the foot” by cutting off gas supplies to Europe due to sanctions.
“Now the whole world sees that the Kremlin can openly object to any contract with a Russian company if it wants to. This is being noticed in Beijing and New Delhi,” he said.
He also accused Moscow of “very cynically using energy and food as weapons”.
“There is no single sanction for gas, for food, for seeds. This is a narrative war. Russia is everywhere trying to explain that the development is only due to sanctions. This is an open lie that we must resolutely oppose. This is what EU foreign ministers do abroad. The only trigger is the Russian attack on Ukraine, not our reaction to it,” says Schallenberg.
remove sanctions
The Austrian Foreign Minister also acknowledged that sanctions from Russia could be lifted if Putin makes concessions.
“Sanctions are a flexible tool, but we are still far from that. I really hope that at some point we will return to a situation where diplomacy can succeed. Negotiations always need both sides. Strategic patience and strong nerves are what counts right now. Sanctions are getting more effective every day. Russian All sectors of its economy are idle, Russia is entering recession,” he said.
At the same time, Schallenberg acknowledged that Austria could become a place for negotiations.
“Of course, if diplomacy prevails, we are ready. But we are far from that. It is clear that even after Putin’s speech in Vladivostok (Russia – socialbites.ca) there is not the slightest desire to withdraw. On the contrary. Russia’s aim is still Ukraine. “It looks like it’s going to destroy it,” he said.
According to him, the Austrian authorities are “aware of the danger” of the risk of “social turmoil” and even “unrest” in Europe during the winter.
“Austria is one of the first places in the EU thanks to massive anti-inflation measures. Even during the pandemic period, we survived the crisis well. I am sure we will succeed again. I totally understand people’s fears and concerns when the electricity bill comes. But our message is clear: We will not disappoint you. <...> We should not fall into the apocalypse and pessimism. Europe remains the most livable and richest continent in the world,” Schallenberg concluded.
injure themselves
On September 6, Politico reported that Hungary has asked the European Union to lift sanctions on Russian businessmen Alisher Usmanov, Petr Aven and Viktor Rashnikov.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the previous day that attempts to weaken Russia with sanctions had failed.
“There are currently 11,000 sanctions against Russia, but attempts to weaken the Russians have not been successful. On the contrary, the severe inflation and energy shortages caused by the sanctions could bring Europe to its knees,” he said.
According to him, the actions of the European Union are unreasonable, because the bloc worsens the condition of its own economy for political reasons.
The situation in Europe will not be easy if we do not change the sanctions policy. The situation is such that the energy in Europe has run out, we have to bring it here from elsewhere and the energy coming here is expensive. “For political reasons, we refuse to use various energy sources, thus making our own lives more expensive and complicating our industry’s position in global competition,” he said.
On the same day, Orban’s chief of staff, Gergely Gouyash, said lifting anti-Russian sanctions would cut inflation and energy prices in Europe in half.
“If the sanctions on Russia, or at least on the energy part, are lifted tomorrow, prices and inflation will fall by half. However, the European Commission followed the opposite path. “It’s true that they want to reduce the damage the sanctions are doing to Europe, but the problem is that a price cap can only be set if someone produces what they want to distribute,” he said.
Source: Gazeta
