Austrian Chancellor Carl Nehammer was the first EU leader to meet with Putin since the invasion. Nehammer told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the conversation was “honest and tough.” He also said that Putin was “in his own war logic” and believed that Russia was winning the war.
Austrian Chancellor Carl Nehammer has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is confident enough about his military campaign in Ukraine, even after the withdrawal of Russian forces from the country after weeks of stagnation. Nehammer on Monday became the first European Union leader to meet with Putin since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. In an interview with NBC “Meet the Press” on Saturday, Nehammer said the conversation with Putin was not “friendly” but “honest and tough.” “I think he is now in his own war logic. He believes that war is necessary for security guarantees for the Russian Federation. He does not trust the international community. He accuses the Ukrainians of genocide in the Donbas region.” When asked by presenter Chuck Todd if Putin believed he was winning the war, Nehamer said he believed he “believes he is winning the war.” Nehamer said earlier this week that he was “not very optimistic after my talks with Putin.” “I made it clear to Mr Putin that his stance, his point of view, is not shared by anyone,” Nehamer told a news conference in Moscow. “He sees it as a kind of self-defense operation of the Russian Federation. He calls it special military operations. I call it war.” Russian forces withdrew from areas around Kyiv earlier this month after failing to occupy the Ukrainian capital and received another blow this week after the Moskva warship was hit by a Ukrainian missile and sank. Russian troops are regrouping for a new offensive in the eastern Donbass region. Read the original article in Business Insider
