Austrian Foreign Minister Makes Case That Russia Must Be Part of European Security in Paris Speech

Jan. 17, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)—Speaking at the University of Paris School of International Affairs, or Sciences Po, “Youth & Leaders Summit” on Jan. 16, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg criticized some of actions of Western countries with respect to the war in Ukraine. Vienna’s Foreign Ministry reported: “At the ‘Youth & Leaders Summit’ at the Paris School of International Affairs of the prestigious Sciences Po, the Foreign Minister spoke about European security architecture after the Russian war of aggression and the contribution the younger generation can make to it. He then discussed nuclear non-proliferation, among other things.... In the afternoon, an informal meeting took place with students from the university, including some from Austria. “One of the greatest tasks for 2023 and the coming years is to maintain our unity on the one hand ... and on the other hand to maintain a sense of proportion. We will have to preserve platforms like the OSCE, which have been created for very good reasons over the last few decades. Our actions today will determine the status of the free world for years to come,” the Ministry quoted him as telling the students.

Likewise, he said in his meeting, with Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna—the first between them—that “It is important to think about what a solution at the negotiating table might look like, because one way or another the European security architecture will have to include Russia as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a nuclear power. The OSCE has an important role to play in this as one of the few remaining platforms where Russian and Western diplomats sit opposite each other,” reported the ministry. At the University of Paris, he had to criticized Poland’s refusal to allow Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to take part in OSCE Ministerial Council annual conference on Dec. 1-2, in Lodz, as Warsaw said it believed it was necessary to “absolutely isolate” Russia.

“The brutal war of aggression instigated by Russia is madness. At the same time, we also have to think about the day after, the week after, and the months after,” Schallenberg countered.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reacted hysterically: “Calls to continue the dialogue with Russia, to respect its history and culture increase the Kremlin's sense of impunity. They perceive it exclusively as an invitation to continue the genocide of Ukrainians.”