“In the coming days we will discuss very intensively and regularly which measures are necessary in order to be able to deal with the various scenarios in the best possible way,” said Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) in the statement.
“The situation in Ukraine is deteriorating by the hour, unfortunately the specter of war in Europe is real. The goal of all of us is to prevent war and to keep all parties involved on the path of diplomacy and talks,” Nehammer continued. The “Crisis Cabinet” includes the Federal Chancellery, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of the Environment and Energy, because according to the information, energy policy issues are also affected.
“fear come true”
If there were further military aggression by Russia against Ukraine, he would immediately convene the National Security Council, stressed the Chancellor. “We have to prepare for the worst scenarios. I warned in Brussels last week that Russia’s pledge to withdraw troops could be a ‘fake withdrawal’. These fears have apparently come true,” continued Nehammer.
“We continue to act in close consultation with our partners at the European level,” said Nehammer and Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) in unison in the broadcast. According to Nehammer and Schallenberg, the current developments give cause for concern. “We continue to observe a massive Russian military presence on the Ukrainian border and in Belarus, more and more incidents on the contact line and also an unprecedented disinformation campaign. That’s why it’s important to have an accurate picture of the situation at all times.”
Video: ORF correspondent Christian Wehrschütz monitors the situation in eastern Ukraine from Mariupol
Safety briefing with experts
Schallenberg traveled to Brussels for a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Sunday. On Monday he will be there, among others, with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba. Also on Monday, Nehammer invited the “Crisis Cabinet” and the parliamentary groups to a security briefing with experts from the intelligence services in order to get an up-to-date picture of the situation and to define how to proceed.
Source: Nachrichten
