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Kyiv/Vienna (APA) – The grandson of the last Austrian Emperor Karl I, Karl Habsburg, has warned against a policy of appeasement toward Russia in view of the current talks on Ukraine. “Appeasement does not work with a totalitarian state. We learned this lesson in the Second World War,” Habsburg told the “Kyiv Post” (online edition). Rather, a Russian attack on the Baltic states or Poland is “absolutely realistic,” emphasized the former MEP, referring to repeated statements from Russia.
“We cannot even say that they are lying to us, because they are talking about extending their influence all the way to Lisbon,” Habsburg said, referring to Russia’s military doctrine, politicians’ statements, and also remarks on state television. “They say all this, but we simply do not want to hear it. That is why we ignore it.”
“Of course” Russia has already begun a hybrid war against Europe. “I definitely see the possibility of a war with NATO, especially regarding the Baltic states or Poland, but also outside NATO, with Moldova,” specified the honorary president of the Austrian Pan-European movement, who runs his own radio station in Ukraine.
Ukraine is fighting “for all of us”
Habsburg sharply criticized the restrictions on military support for Ukraine. Some limitations, such as on the range of weapons systems, are “absolutely unacceptable.” Ukraine, he said, plays a decisive role “for all of us.” “That is why we should all support Ukraine in what it is doing for us. The sooner Europeans realize that this fight here in Ukraine is literally being fought for us, the better it is for all of us.”
The head of the House of Habsburg issued an urgent warning against relying on a conflict solution through territorial concessions to Russia. “This concept of appeasement – ‘Let’s give them a small piece of Ukraine, it’s only 20 percent of the country and everyone will be happy afterwards’ – is complete nonsense,” he stressed. For the future, one can only learn from history, said the aristocrat, whose ancestors also ruled part of what is now Ukraine. “If someone refuses to learn from history, they cannot make reasonable decisions for the future,” said Habsburg.
As a “professional optimist,” he believes that the regime of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin also “has an expiration date.” At present, however, Putin still has the majority of the Russian people behind him, because he controls the information space in the country. This must be “broken through in order to bring the truth to Russia,” he demanded. Movements like that of opposition leader Alexej Nawalny have succeeded in doing this, Habsburg told the Ukrainian newspaper.
In an ORF interview, Habsburg recently emphasized that he has an interest in Austria’s European position and in the European position as a whole. “That is also why I am involved in Ukraine and in many other places,” he said. His grandfather Karl, after the collapse of the Danube Monarchy, relinquished his share in state affairs under pressure from parliamentarians and parties and left Austria. As a result of the founding of the republic on 12 November 1918, the ruling house was expropriated and lost all privileges.