Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer meets with Putin.

 The visit of the Austrian Chancellor sent an important message to the Russian President, which was that “this war must stop,” reported Kronen Zeitung. There were no handshakes, or even shared pictures, due to a concern that the photos could be used for Russian propaganda purposes. Nehammer himself described the meeting in a statement afterward as “very hard,” “very open,” and “straightforward” – “not a friendly visit,” he emphasized. It was “a duty” for him. He wanted to “leave no stone unturned” to bring about a cessation of hostilities, or at least humanitarian progress, for the suffering civilian population in Ukraine. Despite all the differences that exist between nations, there is “no alternative to seeking direct dialogue with Russia.”