- Moscow warned Austria to enter NATO.
- Medvedev considers Austrian neutrality to be important for peace.
- The Austrians are divided in NATO membership support.
- Sweden and Finland joined NATO for safety.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned on Thursday about taking retaliatory measures if Austria decides to join the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO). According to him, Moscow has already taken such steps in response to the “military threats”, which represents the membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO. Medvedev also claims that Russia has the right to veto the possible decision of Austria to go through NATO membership. Informed about the Russian agency TASS, writes TASR.
Moscow often mentions the spread of NATO and the possible admission of Ukraine into the alliance as a reason for its invasion of Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war, two other states, Sweden and Finland entered NATO in February 2022, that ended their decades of neutrality. They justified the change of attitude with concern for their safety.
Austria has maintained neutrality policy since 1955. However, Foreign Minister Beate Meinlová-Reisinger recently told the German daily Welt that “neutrality itself (Austria) does not protect” and that self-defense skills and security partnerships need to be strengthened. In this context, she expressed the openness to discuss at the national level on the possibility of entering NATO. However, she acknowledged that there are currently no majority in Parliament or among the Austrians to support it.
Medvedevthat held the position of Vice -Chairman of the Russian Federation Security Council, in Contribution to VKontakt Platform called “Anschlus NATO” He expressed the belief that the resignation of neutrality and the entry of Austria into the Alliance could accompany considerable diplomatic costs – including the possible transfer of the settlements of international organizations from Vienna to “countries of the global south and the east where optimal conditions for their work can be guaranteed”.
“The Austrian militaristic course destroys his image of a peacemaker, which significantly limits the political maneuvering of Vienna and significantly increases the risk of the Bundesheer Units (Austrian armed forces, note TASR) will become the final goal of the firing force of the Russian armed forces, ” Written by Medvedev “Against Stockholm and Helsinki, after their entry into NATO, countermeasures were adopted against military threats to the security of our country. Even in the case of Austria, no exceptions will be made,” added.
