2023-06-24 10:58:41
The events in Russia also occupied the participants of the “Europe Forum” in Göttweig on Saturday. Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) was concerned: “Nuclear weapons must not fall into the wrong hands,” he said. He is in contact with EU colleagues, and the Western secret services are constantly analyzing the situation in Russia.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, also in Göttweig, said “that we in the EU must not allow ourselves to be distracted from supporting Ukraine.” It is a “very chaotic situation in Russia” that leads to instability and “clearly contradicts Moscow’s propaganda of the last few months.” You can already see “that the propaganda regarding the compactness and cohesion of the Russian regime is wrong,” emphasized Meloni. Immediately following returning to Rome later on Saturday, she scheduled a government meeting with the Italian secret services.
Nehammer emphasized the joint approach with Italy and other EU partners. “What is happening in the Russian Federation is always of the utmost strategic importance because Russia possesses biological, chemical and nuclear weapons.”
Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev stated that the situation in Russia was dangerous and still unclear. “It’s not a sport, it’s a war,” he explained when asked whether Russia’s President Vladimir Putin or “Wagner” boss Yevgeny Prigozhin would win. “When mercenary troops have heavy weapons, it’s always unpredictable.”
Speaking to APA at the Europaforum, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Austria Vasyl Chymynets said: “This is a war that Putin started once morest Ukraine in 2014. Prigozhin’s actions since yesterday show that the Russian propaganda promoting this war once morest justified us has now been utterly destroyed. Putin created the problems at home himself. It shows the weakness of Russia’s regime. With each passing day of the war once morest Ukraine, Russia is getting weaker.
Khymynets also recalled the coup once morest Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in August 1991. “We are now witnessing another coup in Russia. And Putin might be to blame for the collapse of the Russian Federation.”
EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn spoke of a “fragile, opaque matter”. “We must now ensure that Ukraine continues to receive the support it needs.”
SPÖ leader Andreas Babler described the situation on the fringes of the state party conference of the Lower Austrian Social Democrats in St Pölten as “highly dangerous”. It is now regarding “that as few people as possible come to harm”. It is a “new dimension”, now it is necessary to collect information and reassess the situation together with experts.
When asked by APA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vienna said that the situation was being monitored and that the Austrian embassy team in Moscow was in close contact.
The German foreign office has already tightened its travel advice for Russia. Due to current events, the administrative areas bordering Ukraine “and in particular the city of Rostov and the surrounding area should be avoided,” it is now said. “In Moscow, state, especially military, facilities should be largely bypassed. The city center should be avoided for the time being.”
The British government has warned of the fighting spreading across the country, and the Foreign Office has appealed to Britons in Russia to consider leaving the country.
1687605241
#Power #struggle #Russia #Nehammer #concerned #nuclear #weapons
