The Russian Foreign Ministry called the Austrians' desire to join NATO an insult.

The statements of Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger about her readiness to abandon neutrality and join NATO because of the alleged Russian threat are an insult to the Austrians. This was announced on July 30 by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

"The head of the Austrian Foreign Ministry, by making such statements, insults the population of his own country, the vast majority of whose citizens, more than 70%, are in favor of maintaining non—aligned status," she stressed.

According to the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it has become the norm for the political leadership of Austria and the countries of the European Union (EU) to disregard the opinion of their population. She also recalled that Austria gained sovereignty after signing an agreement with the USSR, Great Britain, the USA and France in 1955.

"Now they are also neglecting their own history and international law governing their current status on the world stage," Zakharova added.

"There is no sign of any change in the bellicose rhetoric towards Moscow"

Russian Ambassador to Austria Dmitry Lyubinsky — on attempts to rewrite history, the contribution of the Red Army to the liberation of Vienna and the state of bilateral relations

Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger said on July 26 that Austria could abandon its neutrality towards Russia and join NATO. According to the minister, at the moment there is no majority in the country in favor of joining NATO. However, despite this, such debates can be fruitful.

On July 28, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that the next decade would be difficult, including because of NATO. According to him, the Americans do not hide their interest in spreading their power influence to the Asia-Pacific region, which they themselves call the Indo-Pacific. Lavrov recalled that former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had previously stated that the alliance's sole purpose was supposedly to protect its member states. At the same time, he noted that threats to the territories of the bloc's countries emanate from the Indo-Pacific Sea. Lavrov called this statement revealing.

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