Far-right Austrian lawmakers left the lower house of parliament on Thursday (30) during a virtual audience with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, claiming that the conversation “infringes on Austria’s neutrality status”.
Members of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPO) left their seats as Zelensky addressed lawmakers by video, leaving cards on their desks with the party’s logo and a message that read “room for peace”, according to Austrian public network ORF .
In a video message on its Twitter account on Thursday, the party said “Yes to neutrality, no to warmongering.”
The FPO had warned days before that it would protest in some way against the virtual audience of the Austrian Chamber with the Ukrainian president.
“It is sad that the FPO is the only party in parliament that takes our continued neutrality seriously, and therefore stands for peace,” FPO leader Herbert Kickl said in a statement on Tuesday. He also blamed the Austrian government and other opposition parties for showing “unilateral support for one part of the war”.
In his speech, Zelensky thanked Austria for its humanitarian aid and in projects such as clearing landmines, adding that it is “important not to be morally neutral in the face of evil.”
Austria is not part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and does not supply Ukraine with arms. The country, however, has already sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine, helmets and protective vests for civilian use. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer took to Twitter last week to emphasize the country’s opposition to neutrality, saying that despite being a militarily neutral country, “we understand that we must help where justice and war crimes are taking place.” .
The FPO has maintained close ties with Russia in the past. In 2016, it signed a cooperation agreement with United Russia, the conservative party that held the majority of the Russian parliament. In 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin was seen in Austria as a wedding guest of Karin Kneissl, FPO member and foreign minister of Austria at the time.
Source: CNN Brasil
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