“I made the decision to go to Moscow, look President Putin in the eye and confront him with what I saw,” the chancellor told CNN’s Becky Anderson in an interview Wednesday. Asked about Putin’s mentality during the meeting, Nehamer said Putin was very tough and clear in his messages. “In his view, he must defend the Russian Federation, the Russians living in eastern Ukraine,” he said. Nehamer said Putin referred to the Istanbul peace talks and the Austrian chancellor said he saw an opportunity in those talks to end the war. The chancellor said he had faced Putin for war crimes and told him “there is a need for international justice, the United Nations there”. “It is not easy for Putin to talk about war crimes,” Nehamer said. Asked if Putin had admitted to committing war crimes, Nehamer replied: “Well, you know, it’s President Putin. In that position, he was not clear.”
A divisive visit
Nehamer is the first European leader to meet Putin face to face after his invasion. His visit has split views among EU leaders, with some expressing skepticism about co-operation with the Russian leader. The couple spoke for about 75 minutes at Putin’s residence in Novo-Ogaryovo near Moscow, Nehammer’s spokesman said on Monday, in what the Austrian leader described as “very direct, open and tough”. Before visiting Russia, Nehammer met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv and visited the city of Bucha, where the bodies of unarmed civilians were found scattered on public streets after a month of Russian occupation. “I have addressed the serious war crimes in Bhutan and elsewhere and stressed that all those responsible for them must be held accountable,” Nehamer was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his office. “Sanctions against Russia will remain in place and will continue to be tougher as people die in Ukraine.” The Austrian leader said Putin had accused the Ukrainians of “being responsible for the crimes in Bukha”. However, the video shows Russian forces shooting a civilian there. Austria is militarily neutral, but its government has joined forces with its neighbors to condemn Putin’s invasion. The chancellor said he had raised the issue of evacuation corridors with Putin, following repeated instances in which evacuation attempts around Ukraine were blocked by Russian attacks. Ukrainian officials say a Russian attack on Kramatorsk train station on Friday has killed dozens of people, including many children. “I also made it clear to the Russian president that there is an urgent need for humanitarian corridors to bring drinking water and food to the besieged cities and to evacuate women, children and the wounded,” Nehammer said in a statement. “For me, there is no alternative to seeking direct talks with Russia, despite the great differences,” Nehamer said, referring to the pursuit of a meeting with Putin. ». According to the United Nations, at least 1,892 civilians have been killed and 2,558 injured since the start of the war in Ukraine in February. Nadine Schmidt, Nic Robertson and Rob Picheta contributed to the report.
