Austria will continue to support Ukraine, but without military aid – minister

Karoline Edtstadler, the Minister for EU and Constitution in the Austrian government, has said that her country will support Ukraine in humanitarian and economic terms but will not provide military assistance.

Source: Tagesspiegel, as European Pravda reports 

Quote: "We have always been very clear. Austria is militarily neutral but by no means politically neutral. We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and support them in humanitarian and economic terms, but not when it comes to arms supplies," she said.

Details: Despite its neutrality, Austria has joined NATO's Sky Shield initiative to strengthen its integrated air and missile defence.

The minister explained that such a decision does not contradict the principles of neutrality and non-alignment.

"Austria's neutrality has had a constitutional status since 1955. Of course, this has changed since then, especially after joining the European Union in 1995 and being able to fulfil the duty of assistance. All this is possible, even if we are neutral," she said.

Edtstadler added that Austria does not block any decisions on EU support for Ukraine due to the so-called "Irish clause" (a provision that allows neutral countries to refuse to participate in the EU's mutual defence in the event of an attack - ed.) "and constructively refrains".

Previously: On 30 March, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, during a speech to the Parliament of Austria, which is a militarily neutral state, stressed the impossibility of adhering to a morally neutral stance against evil.

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