The Austrian Foreign Ministry sees an opportunity to guarantee immunity from prosecution for Russian President Vladimir Putin in the event of a summit on Ukraine in Vienna, the website of the Austrian Radio and Television (ORF) reported. Given the arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, Putin would have to be arrested upon entering Austria, BTA reported.
“As a host country for several international organizations, including the OSCE, Austria has many years of experience in organizing international meetings and promoting dialogue and is ready to be a venue and mediator for possible peace talks, if that is the desire“, a ministry spokeswoman told the APA news agency.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has named Austria as the venue for a possible summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger also suggested Vienna as a venue for the talks.
Austria is a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and all parties to the treaty are obliged to execute its arrest warrants, the spokeswoman explained, but there is a possibility, on the basis of agreements with Vienna-based international organizations, to establish contact with the court to enable Putin to participate in peace talks.
In this case, provisions that provide immunity for participants in conferences within the framework of the relevant international organization would apply. Putin has been on the wanted list of the International Criminal Court in The Hague since March 2023.