Why neutral Austria joined EU sanctions policy against Russia?

Patrick Poppel, expert at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, Belgrade.

It is known that the then Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz campaigned very strongly for the establishment of sanctions against Russia in 2014, but a lot of time has passed since this situation and yet a neutral state like Austria is still in line with the sanctions policy against Russia.

You have to ask yourself why Austria plays such a role even though it doesn't really fit the identity of a neutral state in full. Austria's task would be to play a role as a mediator and not as a supporter of the EU's aggressive policy against Russia. Inexperienced and young politician Sebastian Kurz brought Austria's foreign policy in accordance with the EU requirements and transatlantic forces and then quickly became Chancellor of Austria.

Behavior against national interests is immediately rewarded by the structures in the background. Although Austria has always been the place for mediation between rivals in Europe, that has changed radically with the support of sanctions against Russia. Back in 2014, Austria was chosen as an example to show all European politicians that it is important to establish sanctions against Russia.

If a neutral state like Austria supports sanctions, then states that are members of NATO will no longer consider discussing them. The unified willingness of all EU states to impose sanctions against Russia can only be explained by the fact that an atmosphere of unanimity was created.

Since sanctions also damage one's own economy, such a rigid measure must always be carefully analyzed and discussed beforehand. But that was not done because the established political atmosphere made it clear that sanctions must be imposed at all costs.

“If Austria is also for sanctions, then everyone is for it!” was the logic of the politicians. This course started in 2014 and continues to this day without letup.

The argument that if even a neutral state supports the sanctions it is legitimate is, of course, an ingenious manipulation. The question now naturally arises as to whether this situation arose by chance due to the incompetence of Austrian politics or whether it is a planned process. The second possibility becomes more and more likely when the facts are analyzed more closely.

It was immediately clear to everyone that the sanctions would be very dangerous for the Austrian economy and this political action does not fit with the Austrian political culture of neutrality. It is certainly possible that the behavior of politicians was prepared and influenced here from the outside.

The only question is who benefited from it. The large lobby of Austrian business and industry did not benefit from the sanctions. Although this lobby had massive influence on the government at the time, support for sanctions against Russia could not be prevented. Actually, this seems inexplicable for observers. Why weren't there protests from business people immediately at the start of the sanctions?

There are events in world history that happen by chance and have a major impact on the future, but when it comes to Austria's sanctions policy against Russia a plan and a structure are clearly visible. Since not a single business in Austria benefited from this development, this operation can only have been controlled from abroad. It will be very difficult to prove this, but this foreign influence is the only explanation for the behavior of Austrian politicians.

Of course, one can also think in detail about the role of the Austrian government which actually has the task of warding off foreign influence on the government. As a small country, Austria is exposed to strong influence from the big geopolitical players.

The fact that many important international organizations are located in Austria also makes Austria a target for foreign secret services, but also a place for general foreign interests. Austrian politicians are more exposed to these influences than politicians from other countries and the agents who work in Vienna easily get contact and access to important people in the state.

The Austrian government's decision to support sanctions against Russia was not understood by many people because it was against common sense. But we are currently living in a time where a lot of developments are happening in the background. We live in a time in which it is very easy to quickly transmit information and coordinate actions that have been planned long in advance.

Just as the Maidan uprising was planned a long time ago, these forces have dealt with and prepared for the possible establishment of sanctions. If you follow the principle “Who benefits?”, it is clear that the Austrian government's decision at the time is of no use to the government or the population in the long term. The sanctions only help those who cannot be affected by them.

The current fact that OMV (Austrian Mineral Oil Administration) will withdraw from the contract with its Russian partners can only be explained by external influence. Austrians will have to pay a lot more for gas in the future. The population will accept this because the media does not accurately report the reasons for it. All of these facts can be put together to form a picture and the result is that Austria plays a crucial negative role in imposing  sanctions against Russia.

Source: InfoBrics