EU member warns West not to 'burn bridges' with Russia

The Austrian diplomat's comments come after EU officials condemned Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's visit to Russia earlier this month as part of his "peace mission" in Ukraine.

"One cannot burn all bridges... Ignorance does not work in foreign policy. I am a realist and I have to deal with the world as it exists, and Russia is part of that world," Mr Schallenberg told Austrian broadcaster ORF.

Last month, Switzerland hosted the “Peace in Ukraine” summit, to which Russia was not invited. The event focused on Ukrainian leader Zelensky’s “peace plan” to end the conflict, which calls for Russia to withdraw from all territory Kiev claims as its own. Moscow has rejected the plan as unrealistic.

Foreign Minister Schallenberg added that "communication channels" exist with Russia and stressed that they must be used.

Austria is an EU member but not a member of NATO. Like Hungary, Vienna said last year it would not send weapons to Ukraine, bucking the trend in the EU. Last week, Mr Schallenberg also ruled out sending Austrian military trainers to Ukraine.

In March, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer spoke out against the idea of ​​using profits from frozen Russian assets in the EU to supply weapons to Kiev.

In the interview, Austrian Foreign Minister Schallenberg also stated that Russia has not shown any willingness to engage in "serious dialogue", so it is important to involve countries such as India, Brazil and China in the negotiations, "because they can have more influence on Moscow than other countries"./.