Austrian Chancellor proposes Vienna as venue for Russia-Ukraine talks

According to RIA Novosti, the Austrian newspaper Die Presse reported that Austrian Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker (Austrian People's Party) has proposed Vienna as a possible location for negotiations on the agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

“Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker has suggested Vienna as a possible venue for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin,” the newspaper reported.

The office stressed that Vienna has a long tradition “of being a place of dialogue and providing excellent framework conditions for working with international organizations based here, such as the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe)”.

At the same time, responding to questions about the International Criminal Court (ICC)'s arrest warrant for Mr. Putin, the Austrian Chancellor's Office said that the participation of people with ICC arrest warrants in peace negotiations needs to be clarified with the court in advance.

“If the negotiations take place in Vienna, we will apply to the ICC on the basis of our headquarters agreements with international organizations in Vienna … to allow President Putin to participate in the negotiations,” the Austrian Chancellor's Office noted.

Former Russian Ambassador to Austria Dmitry Lubinsky has repeatedly stated that the Vienna negotiating platform has lost its interest in Russia, in the context of Austria no longer holding the principle of neutrality, as well as the process of Austrian authorities imposing significant restrictions on the prospects of normalizing bilateral relations with Russia.

The Russian diplomat stressed that, in the Ukrainian conflict, the Austrian government "clearly chose a side and automatically removed itself from the game."