The Austrian chancellor has suggested that the situation in Ukraine might get out of control. The warning came after Emmanuel Macron’s statement that the question of deploying ground troops there should remain on the table.
Karl Nehammer said in an interview with Austrian public broadcaster ORF on Wednesday night:
It is still important to prevent a major war, a third world war.
The chancellor warned that the Ukrainian conflict could create “spiral of escalation that can no longer be controlled.”
His words in the interview came after French President Emmanuel Macron, a NATO member, said that the introduction of ground troops into Ukraine should not be ruled out – a view that Nehammer emphasised “is not the majority view”.
Referring to Austrian history, Nehammer emphasised that “one can also stumble into a war that then turns into a great tragedy”. He called for diplomatic efforts beyond supporting Ukraine:
New solutions are needed so that the conflict can end.
Nehammer also emphasised the need for countries outside the “Western echo chamber”, particularly China and India, to help bring about a peaceful solution to the current conflict, “as these countries have great influence over Russian President Vladimir Putin”.
“We need to talk to the BRICS countries on an equal footing,” said Nehammer, adding that as a neutral state to the Ukrainian war, Austria can serve as a good point of contact in this effort.
After a summit in Paris in support of Ukraine, Macron had said on Monday:
There is no consensus today that ground troops should be deployed in an official, accepted, and approved manner. But nothing should be ruled out.
Also on Monday, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico warned against an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. Speaking to journalists in his country’s capital Bratislava, Fico said that some NATO and EU members were considering sending their soldiers to Ukraine.
