Austrian president makes first visit to Ukraine
Photo: Twitter/ Alexander Van der Bellen
On February 1, the Federal President of the Republic of Austria, Alexander Van der Bellen, arrived in Ukraine. He will have a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Austrian politician announced this on his Twitter, showing the photos taken at the railway station during the arrival.
For the 79-year-old politician, this is the first trip to our country after the beginning of russia's full-scale invasion. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer had paid a visit to Kyiv before.
Photo: Twitter/ Alexander Van der Bellen
Alexander Van der Bellen plans to hold several meetings, including talks with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
Arrived in Kyiv.
After almost one year of war, #Ukraine is not forgotten. Together with President @ZelenskyyUa and the brave people of Ukraine – we stand for European values. (vdb) pic.twitter.com/80InsNdQYd
— A. Van der Bellen (@vanderbellen) February 1, 2023
The Austrian president's policy towards russia and kremlin dictator vladimir putin has already undergone changes after February 24, 2022.
Before that, he was not against discussing russian interests. He spoke of a "good basis for dialogue" with the russian president. He promoted bilateral cooperation development and even made ambiguous statements about temporarily occupied Crimea.
When putin launched a full-scale war, Van der Bellen issued a strong protest to the russian federation on the very first day. He also condemned "the military attack that violates international law, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."
A week later, the Austrian president and chancellor recorded a video message to support the Ukrainians and assure them that Austria stands by Ukraine.
"We are with you!" Van der Bellen said then in Ukrainian.
At the end of July, Van der Bellen called putin a dictator. In addition, he admitted that Europe had forgotten that russia had made it dependent on its gas.
Van der Bellen would admit that he was "wrong about putin" more than once.
