"The end of war is not in sight. Putin showed us two things"

"The end of war is not in sight. Putin showed us two things"

Shallenberg, in his address to the foreign policy committee of the Austrian Parliament, said that after the new escalation, it became clear that a peaceful solution is further than ever.

He also pointed out that a solution can only be reached at the negotiating table, adding that it is dangerous to reject a request for a truce as a ridiculous thing.

Schallenberg advocated for a stronger connection of the Western Balkans to the EU.

"The war in Ukraine hides the risk of destabilizing the situation in the Western Balkans"; he said, adding that it is important for Austria to support civil society. As for the EU's attitude towards Russia, Shallenberg assessed that the key factors in the coming months are unity, moderation and composure.

According to his words, until now the Western community is very unique, but maintaining it, as he stated, will not be easy due to the different interests of the EU members. Austria, he says, will continue to fight for that unity, because Europe must not neglect the danger of the internationalization of the conflict, as demonstrated by the recent use of Iranian drones.

At the same time, he spoke out against the "automaticity of sanctions", opposing the general refusal of visas for citizens of Russia.

"Austria's goal is not the destruction of Russia, but the re-establishment of the territorial integrity of Ukraine," Schallenberg underlined.

He cited tying the gas supply agreement to sanctions as a serious strategic mistake by Vladimir Putin.

"Thus, Putin showed us two things - he admitted that the sanctions hurt him, and secondly that trade and business agreements are worth nothing to him. This was not the case even during the Soviet Union," he underlined.

Schallenberg pointed out that it is a dangerous idea to believe that in the event of the lifting of sanctions, Europe will once again become a "paradise of peace", as it was before the war. He also assessed that the biggest foreign policy challenge in the coming years will be the policy towards China.

He said that Putin and Xi Jinping want to prove that liberal democracies are weak, so it is important to prove them wrong.