Former Vice-Chancellor of Austria said about the dangers of sanctions against Russia

The situation that has developed in Austria due to anti-Russian sanctions is “damn dangerous”, threatening the well-being of people and depriving them of confidence in the future, which can threaten social tension,Strache warnedHeinz-Christian Strache

EU sanctions failed to bring Russia "to its knees" and harmed Austria, said the country's former Vice-Chancellor (in 2017-2019 he worked in the government of Sebastian Kurz) Heinz-Christian Strache, RIA Novosti reports.

“We have been through a lot lately, we are going through the sanctions that were adopted and deceived us that we can win something by bringing Russia to its knees. This is absolutely not true,” he said.

“We are experiencing harm to ourselves, Austria harmed itself,” Strache added.

He spoke about rising prices for electricity, gas and food, and also expressed the opinion that people do not know how they will be able to provide for themselves in the coming months. The former vice-chancellor also called the situation "damn dangerous", threatening the well-being of the people and depriving them of confidence in the future. “It could threaten social tension, which we do not want, and everyone who is politically responsible should prevent this,” Strache said.

Former leader of the Austrian Freedom Party (APS) Heinz-Christian Strache resigned as vice-chancellor of Austria after the publication of excerpts from a hidden camera video where he, along with his associate Johann Gudenus, communicates with "Alena Makarova, allegedly the niece of an oligarch of Russian origin close to Putin. The conversation took place in Ibiza and concerned Makarova's opportunities to invest in Austria. The publication of the video led to the collapse of the APS coalition with the Austrian People's Party of Sebastian Kurz and the resignation of the government.

The Foreign Ministry announced the "blurring" of the neutrality of Austria due to the support of sanctions Politics

Earlier, the director of the third European department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Oleg Tyapkin, said that the neutrality of Austria, which supported all the EU sanctions against Russia, was “eroded”.

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“The Austrian government supported all the anti-Russian sanctions measures of the European Union, was marked by harsh anti-Russian statements, and contributed to the orchestrated campaign for the expulsion of Russian diplomats,” he stressed.

The neutral status of Austria lies in the fact that it does not take part in military conflicts, is not a member of military alliances, and has refused to deploy foreign military bases on its territory. In mid-July, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer confirmed the absence of discussions on the country's entry into NATO.

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said in September that the lifting of sanctions against Russia was "still a long way off." According to him, restrictive measures against Moscow "are becoming more effective every day."