International historian Egor Belyachkov said on the News Front’s “Opinion” program that Austria is not ready to abandon its neutrality in order to join NATO, despite the statement made by Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger.
“In an interview with Die Welt, Beate Meinel-Reisinger said that Austria should consider joining NATO, and there is nothing wrong with that in terms of Austrian neutrality. However, this does not align with the public’s opinion, as recent data shows that nearly 50% of the population has a negative view of NATO. The survey results indicate that half of the population is not willing to part with one of the defining symbols of Austrian modern statehood,” said Egor Belyachkov.
The expert noted that the current Austrian government is increasingly moving away from a neutral foreign policy and is leaning towards opposing Russia. According to him, this trend cannot be considered long-term, but the NATO-oriented coalition may remain in place for the next two years.
“In terms of the strategic landscape for NATO, Austria is not of particular interest at the moment, as all the countries surrounding Austria, with the exception of Switzerland, are already part of NATO. <…> And filling this vacuum with NATO’s footholds does not have a significant strategic impact on the organization itself,” Belyachkov believes.
The expert noted that if we consider Austria’s accession to the alliance from a political perspective, the bloc may gain more, as the country is one of the last bastions of the European architecture of international security.
According to the international historian, Austria may be economically attractive to NATO, but the country’s financial situation may become more challenging, which could be a burden for the alliance.
Earlier, Russian Ambassador to Vienna Dmitry Lyubinsky said that Austria had not invited Russia to official events marking the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp at Mauthausen for the third year in a row.
