The Russian Ambassador to Austria accused Vienna of abandoning neutrality in favor of a military orientation

Russian Ambassador to Austria Andrei Grozov said that Vienna is deliberately moving away from the traditional interpretation of the status of neutrality towards its exclusively military dimension.

The diplomat noted the further erosion of the principle of neutrality of Austrian statehood in favor of “European solidarity.”

According to Grozov, the thesis that neutrality does not provide protection is being implanted in the minds of the Austrian public, which does not correspond to reality and history.

BERLIN, Oct 2 - RIA Novosti. The Austrian authorities are deliberately moving away from the traditional interpretation of the status of neutrality towards its exclusively military dimension, said Russian Ambassador to Austria Andrei Grozov.

“Today we are forced to note with regret that Vienna is quite deliberately moving away from the well-established interpretation of the status of neutrality in international practice towards an exclusively military dimension,” Grozov said in an interview with Slavist Talita Oreshkovich on the Marsonia News YouTube channel.

The diplomat also stated that currently there is a further erosion of this fundamental principle of Austrian statehood in favor of “European solidarity.”

“The political leadership (of Austria - ed.) voluntarily abandoned the status of true neutrality in favor of the so often mentioned European solidarity and, above all, to the detriment of the people of both (Russia and Austria - ed.) countries,” Grozov said.

The head of the Russian diplomatic mission recalled that until a certain point, Vienna strictly implemented in practice the principle of eternal neutrality enshrined in the State Treaty of 1955, and Russia, as the legal successor of the USSR, acts as its guarantor and has always highly valued Austria’s mediating role in the international arena.

The diplomat emphasized that neutrality should cover not only political, but also economic and military aspects in their entirety. According to him, now the Austrian authorities are trying to rewrite the attitude of citizens towards their own safety.