Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer is in Moscow today to meet Vladimir Putin. He is thus the first EU head of state to meet the Russian president face to face since the latter declared war on Ukraine on February 24. Nehammer, who was sworn in as chancellor just four months ago, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kiev on Saturday. Austria is one of six EU countries that are not members of NATO and is officially non-aligned militarily - a fact Nehammer highlighted in a tweet confirming the visit.
Nehammer said Austria has "a clear position on the Russian war of aggression" that "must stop" and called for "humanitarian corridors, a ceasefire and a full investigation into war crimes." Austria, however, is considered relatively close to Russia, with historic business ties.
This is no surprise: Nehammer also said he had informed European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Ukrainian Prime Minister Zelenskyy in advance of his plan to visit Moscow. German media report that Ukrainian officials, including the deputy mayor of the besieged city of Mariupol, are "appalled" by the planned visit.