Austrian Chancellor Karl Nechamer – the only EU leader to meet with Vladimir Putin since the invasion of Ukraine – said the Russian president believed he was winning the war.
In an interview, Mr Nehamer said that the conversation with the Russian president in Moscow last week was not friendly, describing it as “frank and firm”.
He told NBC’s Meet The Press: “I think it’s in its own military logic now. He believes the war is necessary to ensure the security of the Russian Federation. He does not trust the international community. He accuses Ukrainians of genocide in Donbass.
At an earlier press briefing in Moscow, Mr Nechamer said he had made it clear to the president that “his attitude, his views are not shared by anyone”.
The Austrian chancellor said Putin saw this as “a kind of self-defense operation by the Russian Federation.” He calls it special military operations. I call it war. “
Prior to his visit to Moscow, Mr Nechamer visited Bucha in Ukraine and took stock of the destruction left by Russian forces. He said he wanted to be a “first-hand witness” before meeting with Putin, telling NBC that “we saw war crimes there.” [in Bucha]“.
During his interview, he warned that “we need to look at his [Putin’s] eyes and we must confront him with what we see in Ukraine. “
When the NBC presenter asked him how Putin reacted to his war crimes indictment, Mr Nehamer said the Russian leader had promised to “cooperate in an international investigation, on the one hand, and on the other,” he told me. that you do not believe in the western world. So that will be the problem now in the future. “
The chancellor also said he had told Putin that “we need humanitarian corridors in Mariupol, we need to take care of the wounded.”
The Austrian chancellor said there were no handshakes and did not pose for photos during his meeting with Putin.
Shortly after Meet the Press, Russia’s defense ministry announced the opening of a capitulation window in Mariupol on Sunday morning, saying Ukrainian forces surrendering their weapons during that period would not be harmed. Later Sunday morning, there were no indications on the spot that the offer had been accepted.
Earlier on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said peace talks with Russia were at a dead end “because we will not trade our territory and our people.”
He said that if Russian forces carried out their threat to destroy the last Ukrainian troops fighting in the port city of Mariupol, it would “end” the talks.
Mr Zelensky also spoke with the leaders of Britain and Sweden on Saturday and discussed strategies on how best to help Ukrainian forces in Mariupol and other trapped citizens.
Addressing the nation, the Ukrainian president said the fate of Mariupol could be decided either through battle or diplomacy. He said: “Or our partners give Ukraine all the necessary heavy weapons, planes and – without exaggeration – immediately so that we can reduce the occupiers’ pressure on Mariupol and break the blockade.
“Or we are doing this through negotiations in which the role of our partners must be decisive,” Zelenski added.
In the end, the Austrian chancellor said he was “pessimistic” about his meeting with the Russian leader. “We all see that preparations are underway for a large-scale battle in the Dongas area. We will see a lot of human lives there – that’s why I’m pessimistic. “
Mr Nehamer said Putin believed the sanctions were “really tough”. But in his view, this war is “necessary.”
Asked if he believed Putin would use nuclear weapons, the chancellor said: “This is a difficult question. He knows he has this weapon. And he knows the threat of this weapon. I don’t know if he will use it, but he knows he can threaten the world with this weapon.
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