VIENNA, Feb. 8 (AP) – Though Vladimir Putin is ending his visit to Austria on the Alpine slopes, his trip is more than just a chance to take in some world class skiing. Austria’s slow drift away from neutrality and a stalled multi-million dollar combat aircraft deal are also on the agenda of the Russian president.
Criticism of Austrian government moves to change the nation’s neutral status was voiced by Russian Ambassador Alexander Golovin just days before Putin’s planned arrival Thursday. And lack of Austrian interest in a multimillion dollar Russian offer of 30 MiG 29s to replace the Austria’s aging Swedish combat aircraft also rankles Moscow.
Officially, Putin’s two-day program includes the usual meetings with government and business leaders and the signing of bilateral protocols meant to intensify most kinds of ties between the two countries. Putin, an avid skier, is also scheduled to spend at day at the World Skiing Championships in the Tyyrollean resort village of St Anton with his wife Lyudmila and may take a run down the snowy slopes.
But with Russia keen to reduce the former Soviet Union’s debt to Austria of around $3.3 billion, Putin and his delegation are likely to push hard for the MiG 29 deal, said to be worth nearly half of the total Moscow owes Vienna. According to recent Austrian news reports, the Russians have offered generous terms including, formally unrelated business contracts to Austrian firms worth billions of dollars, if the deal goes through.
Still, the Russian chances don’t appear good. When tender offers went out just before Christmas, the Swedes, French and Americans were notified but not the Russians.
The Kremlin’s revived interest in Austria’s status between East and West might be linked to Moscow’s efforts to clinch the aircraft deal. Russian criticism of government moves to water-down Austria’s “everlasting neutrality” as the country’s right-conservative leadership slowly maneuvers toward NATO membership appear to be growing in proportion to decreasing interest in Vienna for the MiG 29s.
Soviet troops, which helped chase the Germans out of Austria at the end of World War II, left the country more than a decade later only after Austria committed itself to permanent neutrality, in documents cosigned by Moscow and the Western allies.
Golovin, in a recent interview with the weekly Format, said Austria took on an «obligation» to others by signing the document, adding: «The discussion makes it appear as if it were solely up to Austria to declare itself free from this (obligation) or not.»
Alluding to signals by the government of possible NATO membership sometime in the future, Golovin said Austrian entry into the military alliance was not in Russia’s interest.
Golovin’s comments were criticized by some Austrian politicians who suggested they constituted interference in domestic affairs. Seeking to dilute the controversy, Putin told Austrian state television on the eve of his departure that whether or not to give up neutrality was “a question that the Austrian people must decide themselves.” Still, he urged the country to remain neutral.
After his visit to Austria, Putin will travel to eastern Ukraine for a meeting with President Leonid Kuchma, where the agenda will be heavy on security, foreign policy, and energy issues.
