Federal Chancellor of Austria Karl Neghammer during a meeting with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi in Paris on December 7, 2024 stated, that Vienna, as the capital of a neutral country, is ready to become a platform for possible peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
The chancellor emphasized that he discussed with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky joint efforts to achieve a lasting, just peace. Neghammer described the conversation as “deep and constructive.”
However, this initiative is not mentioned in the official reports of the Office of the President of Ukraine. Instead, it was emphasized that Zelensky thanked Austria for its support to Ukraine. In particular, he emphasized the importance of assistance in humanitarian demining, treatment and rehabilitation of injured civilians.
In addition, Zelensky invited Austrian companies to participate in the reconstruction of Ukrainian infrastructure. The President also called on Austria to support the G7 Joint Declaration on aid to Ukraine and to consider the possibility of concluding a bilateral agreement on long-term support.
It is interesting that the idea of holding negotiations in Vienna had already been voiced by Karl Neghammer. In September 2024, he stated that such a dialogue should take place without preconditions.
Previously, Zelenskyi expressed readiness to hold the second peace summit in any neutral capital, for example, in India. At the end of October, the Ukrainian side announced its intention to organize this event by the end of the year, at the same time there was no talk of direct negotiations with Moscow at that time.
