Austrian chancellor calls talks with Putin 'open, tough'

MOSCOW

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer on Monday called his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow "open” and “tough,” and producing little in the way of optimism.

Speaking at a press briefing in Moscow after the meeting, Nehammer said the visit was not "friendly" and that his message to Putin was that the Ukraine war must end because it has no winners.

"I also clearly stated to President Putin that sanctions against Russia will remain and will be tightened as long as people die in Ukraine," he said.

He then voiced support to the Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul late last month, saying that is the only platform where Moscow and Ukraine are communicating directly with each other.

"It was important to understand that the Russian president still has confidence in the negotiations in Istanbul. I believe that this process should be supported further. This is the only format in which progress could be made in the peace talks, but they have stalled now," he said.

Nehammer added that he informed Putin that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would like to meet with him, but did not get "any significant reaction."

The chancellor said that in general there are no reasons for optimism, but it was important to show Putin the EU's vision of the war in Ukraine. “It is important to have personal contact, to personally tell the president about the reality of the war that is happening now, and how it is seen to the European Union. We need to continue on this path," he said.

According to Nehammer, Putin’s assessment of events in Ukraine is diametrically opposite from the views of EU leaders.

"In general, I don't have an optimistic impression that I can share with you from this conversation with President Putin,” he said.

"It was important for me, looking into his eyes, to point out the horrors of the war, the suffering that I saw myself, the war crimes in Bucha and other villages in Ukraine,” he added, referring to civilian deaths near the capital Kyiv that drew a strong international backlash, while Moscow called the scenes “staged.”

“There was a tough confrontation between us on this topic, because the president considers biased the attitude of the international community (to Russia). The Russian side calls the events in Ukraine 'a (special) military operation' and the EU – a war,'' he noted.

In a separate statement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the conversation between Putin and Nehammer was not long, and that he had no details to share with the media.

Nehammer is the first European leader to visit Moscow since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war.

At least 1,793 civilians have been killed and 2,439 injured in Ukraine since Russia declared war on Feb. 24, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be much higher.

Around 4.5 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.​​​​