Austrian Foreign Minister: unsubstantiated sanctions against Russia are unacceptable

European politicians are not ready for a new round of the sanctions war against Russia.


According to Austrian sources, official Vienna would like to receive indisputable evidence of Navalny’s “poisoning” before making decisions on a possible refusal to continue the construction of Nord Stream 2.

“It is impossible to impose sanctions against Russia without any evidence in connection with the situation around Alexei Navalny”, – Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.

“We must beware of lumping everything together. We have been able to draw a line in the past when we think about the situation with Crimea and eastern Ukraine. We have always shown an accurate reaction to any action by Moscow, which was unacceptable for us. There will undoubtedly be a discussion, but I suppose you need to approach this wisely”. 

Taking into account the specific and close relationship between Austria and Germany, it can be assumed that the request to voice such a point of view was made precisely from Berlin, which itself has not yet dared to do this.

Earlier, Merkel said that Nord Stream 2 should be completed, and it is inappropriate to link this issue with the Navalny case.