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Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen received his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Selenskyj with military honors at the Inner Borough of Vienna.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky began his first official visit to Vienna on Tuesday. Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen received his counterpart in the morning with military honors in the inner courtyard. Selenskij also meets with Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and President of the National Council Wolfgang Sobotka (both ÖVP).
In the afternoon, the two presidents will participate in an Austro-Ukrainian economic round table. In the evening, a joint visit to the wine tavern is scheduled.
Kurz wants to continue with Nord Stream 2
Like Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen, Kurz sees no need to stop Nord Stream 2 in connection with the poison attack on Russian opposition activist Alexej Navalny. The pipeline is an “economic and positive project,” the foreign minister said after speaking with Zelensky Kurz and Zelensky condemned the attack and called for an investigation. Kurz stressed that the guilty must be held accountable. At the same time, he stressed that he agreed with Van der Bellen. He had previously said that he did not see any connection between the Navalny case and Nord Stream 2. Kurz added: The project, which OMV is also involved in financing, tries to diversify routes.
Zelensky sees it differently. He understands that “it has to do with the economy. Companies want to make a profit.” However, the issue of energy security is not just about Ukraine, but about the future of energy security. You would like this question to be seen “from our perspective.”
The subject of the visit is bilateral relations. The presidential office described this as “excellent” beforehand. Meanwhile, however, there were shadows over the relationships. After intensive contacts between top Austrian representatives and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was the guest of honor at the wedding of then-Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl in August 2018, Kiev reacted with dismay. Former Chancellor Pavlo Klimkin called the wedding invitation a “very big mistake”: “It’s a question of trust.”
The ceasefire is maintained “on a large scale”
The conflict in Ukraine will also be a topic of conversation during the visit. There were positive developments here under Zelensky, said former OSCE special envoy to Ukraine, Austrian diplomat Martin Sajdik, in an interview with the APA. The ceasefire announced at the end of August will be “largely respected”. The prisoner exchange and reconstruction of the bridge at Stanitsa Luhanska also received much attention, which enabled thousands of people to cross the line of contact between the eastern Ukrainian separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk and the rest of the country.
Actor Zelensky has been in office since the end of May 2019. The comedian from the television series “Servants of the People” had high hopes for positive changes in the country. Kyiv political scientist Volodymyr Fessenko told the APA that there has not yet been a major breakthrough expected by voters and significant qualitative changes in the country. Zelensky himself declared in the “Wiener Zeitung”: “Ending the war and taking back the Ukrainian territories, that’s my top priority. They are not romantic promises. Of course, it is not easy. But we have already achieved a lot. We have 140 Recover to the people from captivity. We managed to separate the troops. There are no more shootings there, almost no one dies. Except for one death, there have been no victims in seven weeks. “
According to the Chancellery of the Presidency, Austria fully supports the territorial sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine. Austria also supports the EU sanctions against Russia, which will apply until January 2021. Austria believes that Zelensky’s support for the full implementation of the Minsk peace accords is key to the peaceful resolution of the conflict in eastern Ukraine .
13,000 people have died so far in the conflict that has been dormant since 2014. More than five million people are directly affected by the conflict and its effects every day. 3.4 million people are in a permanent humanitarian emergency. The already precarious humanitarian situation is worsening due to the widespread outbreak of the corona virus and is hitting the economy hard. While the economy in Ukraine grew 3.2 percent in 2019, according to the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, a seven percent drop is expected this year. Ukraine depends on help from international donors.
Help for eastern Ukraine
The Austrian federal government wants to resolve this Wednesday one million euros in aid for eastern Ukraine. Half of the funds from the Foreign Disaster Fund will be made available to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the other half to experienced Austrian non-governmental organizations to alleviate the humanitarian emergency in Ukraine. Briefly highlighted in this context: “Ukraine, an immediate neighboring country, continues to suffer severely from a humanitarian crisis in the east of the country, which has been exacerbated by the corona pandemic. Therefore, it is our responsibility to continue to serve Ukrainians to help in this emergency. “
The topics of conversation during the visit are expected to be the current corona pandemic with its economic and health consequences and the expansion of economic relations. With almost 1.5 billion US dollars (1.26 billion euros, 2019), Austria is one of the largest investors in Ukraine and in the financial sector, but also in the packaging industry, sports equipment and the food industry. Also for this reason, Austria is interested in continuing reforms to strengthen the rule of law and fight corruption, he said.
Rename a place
During the visit, Global 2000 and the president of the Lugansk region are expected to sign an agreement to support children and families in the region. The environmental protection organization has been committed to helping children affected by the Chernobyl reactor disaster for 25 years. Leukemia, lymphatic cancer, immune deficiencies, and other life-threatening illnesses still affect many people, including many children. In addition, a cooperation agreement between the Lower Austrian provincial government and the Kiev province state administration will be signed on Tuesday in the presence of Lower Austria Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP).
According to the APA, Zelensky wants to make a symbolic request to Federal Chancellor Kurz during his visit to Vienna: the square that is being created in front of the Barbara Church in Vienna should be called “Ukraine Square”. The background is the role of Santa Barbara as the oldest and most important center of Ukrainian in Austria.
