Austria’s president publicly urges Putin to engage in serious peace negotiations.

“I appeal once again to those in power in the Kremlin to end this illegal war and start serious, honest negotiations. Mr. President Zelenskyy has assured us once again today that Ukraine is ready for this,” Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen emphasized on June 16 in Vienna during a press conference with President Zelenskyy.

Van der Bellen added that the international community within the UN has spoken “for a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace for Ukraine.” “But such a peace cannot come without taking into account Ukraine’s security interests,” the Austrian president added.

Zelenskyy, in turn, appealed to Austria’s neutrality by noting that neutrality failed to protect Ukraine from Russian attack. Van der Bellen acknowledged that, due to its neutrality, Austria has not seriously undertaken the responsibility to independently ensure its own defense for decades.

The Ukrainian delegation signed several bilateral memoranda and documents with Austrian leadership regarding the protection and return of Ukrainian children from Russia, cooperation in the field of agriculture, the development of interregional and municipal cooperation, the development of cooperation between the Odesa region and the federal state of Upper Austria, as well as cooperation in Ukraine’s reconstruction.