Austrian MP: Putin unlikely to attend Vienna peace talks, he wants to keep fighting

This opinion was expressed by Veit Dengler, a representative of the liberal NEOS party, in a comment to a Ukrinform correspondent.

When asked whether he considered it possible for Putin to come to Vienna to participate in peace talks with Zelensky, the Austrian MP said: “No, I think it’s unlikely.”

According to Dengler, if Putin did agree to such a meeting, he would most likely prefer it to take place in Budapest rather than the Austrian capital.

At the same time, a member of the Austrian National Council is skeptical about the Kremlin leader’s willingness to stop the war against Ukraine. “I am skeptical that he is ready to do that (end the war – ed.). For a simple reason: even if he gained those territories, I think he would still strive for more. He wants to restore the Soviet Union in one form or another. And for that, he needs all of Ukraine, not just Donetsk and Luhansk. I am skeptical that peace can be achieved now,” Dengler said.

At the same time, he welcomed the efforts of the U.S. Administration to pursue a peaceful settlement. In his opinion, the United States should increase sanctions pressure on Russia to force it to make peace. “I think it is good that attempts are being made. It would also be good if the Americans introduced sanctions for this, including secondary sanctions. But I somewhat doubt that this will happen. We’ll see,” Dengler said.

According to him, “it would be good” if the fighting could be stopped along the current frontline, combined with reliable security guarantees for Ukraine. At the same time, he assesses the implementation of such an option in the near future as unlikely.

“I doubt the Russians will agree to a ceasefire. And we have also seen that the Americans have taken some things off the table that they are not willing to do. So I am a bit skeptical, unfortunately. Personally, I think the war will continue. At least until the middle of next year. But we’ll see,” said the NEOS MP.

As reported by Ukrinform, Austrian Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker proposed Vienna as a venue for possible talks on a peaceful settlement of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Earlier, Switzerland also stated its readiness to host Putin for peace negotiations on Ukraine.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that official Budapest had twice offered to hold peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, and that this proposal remains valid.

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