Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday, without photos being taken or a joint statement released.
The meeting was “very direct, open and tough” and his primary message to Putin was “that the war must end, because both sides can only lose in a war,” Nehammer said in a statement released after the meeting.
He emphasized in the statement that his Moscow trip was “not a friendly visit,” the Austrian news agency APA reported.
The Austrian chancellor also said he had addressed the “serious war crimes in Bucha and other places” in the meeting and called for those responsible to be held accountable.
Nehammer was the first head of government from European Union countries to meet Putin in Moscow since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Nehammer’s press spokesperson Daniel Kosak tweeted on Monday that the meeting between Nehammer and Putin lasted for 75 minutes at Putin’s Novo-Ogaryovo residence near Moscow.
“No joint pictures or joint press statement” would be released “at Austria’s request,” Kosak said.
On Saturday, Nehammer met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev to show political support.
He visited the town of Bucha where bodies of unarmed civilians were found strewn across public streets after a month of Russian occupation.
He announced his Moscow visit on Sunday, saying he planned the trip on his own initiative and aimed to promote dialogue between Russia and Ukraine.
”I addressed the serious war crimes in Bucha and other places and emphasized that all those responsible for them must be held accountable,” Nehammer said, according to the statement.
“I also told President Putin in no uncertain terms that sanctions against Russia will remain in place and will continue to be tightened as long as people are dying in Ukraine.”
Earlier this week, Austria expelled four Russian diplomats for “activities incompatible with their diplomatic status.”
