GRIM

Austrian Leader ‘Not Particularly Optimistic’ After Meeting With Putin in Moscow

“It was also clear and recognizable that the Russian president still has confidence,” Karl Nehammer said.

After meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow to present him “with the facts,” Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said he’s “not particularly optimistic” about the future of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “The offensive is being prepared with determination,” Nehammer said Monday, CNN reports. “It was also clear and recognizable that the Russian president still has confidence.” The discussions were the Russian president’s first in-person meeting with an EU leader since the start of the war. Nehammer said ahead of the meeting that Austria had a “clear position on the Russian war of aggression,” and would be calling for humanitarian measures, including a ceasefire, and the investigation of reported war crimes. Nehammer also met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Saturday, after Zelensky was visited by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.