Austria reveals it has maintained ‘informal channels’ of communication with Russia

Austria has maintained informal contact with Russia since the conflict in Ukraine began, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said on Monday. While Vienna has backed the EU’s sanctions regime thus far, the diplomat insisted that the bloc cannot cut off its “largest geopolitical neighbor.” In an interview with Die Welt, Schallenberg was asked whether Vienna maintains “informal channels of communication with the Russian government.” The official replied “yes,” adding that “the US administration is doing the same.” “We have a global responsibility,” he explained. “Russia has not disappeared from the map. Russia is the EU’s largest geographical neighbor and the largest nuclear power on this planet.”