Demining aid for Ukraine causes dispute in Austria

GENEVA

A dispute has erupted in the Austrian government over Vienna's possible involvement in a demining mission in Ukraine.

Austrian Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner of the conservative Austrian People's Party (OVP) is clearly against participation, according to a report in the Austrian daily Die Presse on Friday.

According to the report, Tanner invokes Austria's neutrality, saying: "We will not risk any involvement of Austrian soldiers, even if only indirectly, in acts of war," Die Presse quoted the 53-year-old politician as saying.

The fear is that even if the demining was designed as a purely humanitarian mission, there was no guarantee that Austria would not be drawn into the course of the war after all, the Defense Ministry said.

Since cleared roads could also be used for an attack, such an intervention for a neutral state like Austria would contradict the Federal Constitutional Law and would therefore be "unthinkable," the ministry further told Die Presse.

According to the newspaper's information, Ukraine itself is primarily interested in Austria's remote-controlled, armored minesweepers.

However, Austrian Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler of the Green Party disagrees. "This is not a neutrality issue, because it is about a humanitarian task," he said, according to Die Presse.

The newspaper further reports that the OVP-led Foreign Ministry is also more in line with Kogler.

However, the Austrian Defense Ministry is not only opposed to the demining mission but also to the training of Ukrainian forces within the framework of the EU Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM).

"Austria will not participate in training within the framework of EUMAM," the ministry told Die Presse.