Austria Says EU Readying 'Strong, United Answer' To Russia If Situation Deteriorates

The Austrian foreign minister said Wednesday that the European Union was ready to take a hard line on Russia if the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border worsened

VIENNA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th January, 2022) The Austrian foreign minister said Wednesday that the European Union was ready to take a hard line on Russia if the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border worsened.

"In case the situation deteriorates... we are currently preparing internally a very strong, united answer from the EU," Alexander Schallenberg told a news conference.

He said the border situation was "extremely worrisome" and required steps to calm things down. The EU sees dialogue as the only way out and hopes to find a compromise with Russia but it does not agree with many of Russian initiatives, Schallenberg continued.

"There are many things that the Russians have put on the table, which are simply unacceptable," he said.

Russia has demanded legally binding guarantees from the United States and NATO that the military bloc would not expand to Ukraine or deploy weapons threatening Russian national security in its territory. Schallenberg said countries should be free to choose their alliances.