Austrian foreign minister says Putin should not win

He said this in a comment to journalists, commenting on a joint visit to Ukraine with his Czech counterpart, Ukrinform reports, referring to APA.

"The goal is that Putin does not win. Putin failed to destroy Ukraine, he failed to divide the West," Schallenberg said.

According to him, his joint visit to Kyiv with Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky is a "clear sign of solidarity from Central Europe," and the Slavkov format "works as a whole."

Schallenberg said that now it is important to ensure the existence of a world where international law and the rule of law apply, and not "the law of the strongest."

He recalled that Austria, as a neutral state, provides Ukraine with mostly humanitarian aid. In general, financial support from Austria amounts to about EUR 80 million. About 980 tonnes of humanitarian aid were delivered to Ukraine, and 38 fire and rescue vehicles were handed over to the country. Austria also took in about 80,000 refugees from Ukraine.

"We will continue to support Ukraine in solidarity. We will rebuild this country - as soon as it becomes possible again," the Austrian minister said.

According to the report, the visit to Ukraine was initially planned in the so-called Slavkov format (Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia), but the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia, Ivan Korcok, was forced to cancel the trip at the last moment due to contracting coronavirus.